Why we had a 'Bake Off' boycott

Last night was the final of the Great British Bake Off, but thousands of fans were not watching. For the first time, there was a Bake Off boycott. At least, there was here at Pearson Towers. What could have prompted this?

Well, imagine a group of children who have just completed a tricky task and the teacher awards a gold star to every pupil except the shy student that the rest of the class knows is the best. That is essentially what happened in last week’s semi-final, when judge Paul Hollywood gave a “sought-after” Hollywood Handshake to Crystelle, Guiseppe and Chigs for their patisserie slices. The one contestant he shunned was Jürgen, whose crestfallen look was all the more poignant for the way he tried to master his disappointment and be pleased for his friends. It was nothing less than public shaming and bullying by Hollywood. As Lorraine Kelly said on her show the next day: “He should hang his head in shame.”

From the very first episode, when Jürgen produced a witty and delicious reading lamp cake, this endearing engineer seemed to be a – ahem – choux-in for the final. He brought a physicist’s steely rigour to the airy business of baking while happily scattering artistic references in a culture-free tent.

Perhaps that’s why Paul hated him. Because sweet, brilliant, cultivated Jurgen is everything the testosterone-pungent batch loaf is not. Paul “I am the cock of the walk and this is MY farmyard” Hollywood sucks up to the pretty female contestants and is blunt with the less physically attractive ones. “A peacocking manchild,” as 2013 contestant and author Ruby Tandoh memorably called him. With Jürgen he was downright sadistic and the hostility on social media was overwhelming. “Justice for Jürgen. He was robbed. Our winner!” was a typical lament. People were truly upset.

There were calls for Hollywood to be reported to Ofcom for his victimisation. I would go further. He should be sacked by Channel 4. For years, Bake Off has been my sedative of choice – a joyous, blood-pressure-lowering affirmation that people can be really nice. This time, it left a nasty taste in the mouth. There was no need to watch the final. We knew the real winner’s name.