The Great British Baking Show's Greatest Controversies

In a 2014 GBBS episode, contestant Iain Watters discovered his Baked Alaska had been removed from the freezer, allegedly by fellow contestant Diana Beard.

Watters threw the melting dessert in the bin and brought it to the judges. The incident triggered such an intense viewer reaction that Beard went home in the next episode.

In a 2013 episode, contestant Deborah Manger accidentally used Howard Middleton’s custard for her own trifle. However, Middleton graciously accepted Manger’s apology.

During the 2020 GBBS season, contestants Sura Selvarajah knocked fellow baker Dave Atherton's pineapple upside-down cake to the floor while swatting away a fly.

Selvarajah immediately burst into tears of remorse, and Atherton salvaged what he could of his creation to present to the judges. Neither contestant was sent home that week.

In a 2014 episode, contestant Enwezor Nzegwu used store-bought fondant for his 3D biscuit scene, a scandalous move that led to Nzegwu's elimination that week.

In 2016, when judge Paul Hollywood dunked his Jaffa Cake into his tea during a challenge, he committed what many UK viewers considered an unforgivable culinary sin.

Hollywood's casual dunking, traditionally reserved for biscuits, reignited Britain’s passionate debate about whether Jaffa Cakes are actually cakes or biscuits.