TV

Ofcom delivers verdict on Great British Bake Off

Noel Fielding shut himself inside a fridge for a joke

Media watchdog Ofcom has said it will not be investigating complaints made about the moment The Great British Bake Off presenter Noel Fielding was shut inside a fridge.

The quirky show host hid inside the closed machine for a brief gag earlier on in the current series of the pre-watershed Channel 4 show.

The regulator said that it received 55 complaints from people who said that the scene, aired just before 9pm on September 12, could have a dangerous influence on children.

Read more: Great British Bake Off fans outraged as fan fave is sent home

An Ofcom spokesman said in a statement on Monday: “We assessed complaints that a scene in this programme was potentially dangerous and could be imitated by children.

“We found that the scene was very brief and occurred later in the programme, when younger children were least likely to be watching.”

Following an assessment, they added: “All fridges made after 1960 must include a mechanism to open the door from the inside.”

During the episode in question, Noel was hiding in a fridge and fellow presenter Sandi Toksvig opened the door to find him crouched inside.

Noel shouted to the bakers how much time they had left to complete their task, before Sandi closed the door on him again.

Although it was obviously supposed to be a funny moment, viewers were furious and were worried about children copying it.

People came out in their droves to tweet about Noel Fielding hiding in the fridge, and branded the show “irresponsible”.

One angry viewer tweeted: “How stupid can you be? You should never shut people in a fridge even for comic effect! Children are watching this!”

Another said: “@noelfielding hiding in a fridge on #GBBO. Big mistake. People have died doing this.”

A third viewer said: “Outraged they’d show climbing into a fridge being fun on @GBBOUK. Super fun when kids do it and suffocate – nice one @Channel4.”

A fourth tweeted: “Seriously? A presenter sat in a fridge? How stupid. Families watch this with children. Have you never heard of imitative behaviour?”

“Very irresponsible to show a grown up hiding in a fridge,” added a fifth.

Read more: GBBO facing Ofcom probe after wave of viewer complaints

GBBO came under fire last week when Liam was sent home.

He was a firm favourite with fans who wanted to see him make the final and some even threatened to switch off after his elimination.


Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)