‘The Great British Baking Show’ Has Been Secretly Filming During Quarantine, Here’s How
It looks like fans of The Great British Baking Show are getting a season in 2020 after all. When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began spreading across the globe, it halted film and television productions. As the virus has continued to rage on with no vaccine available, companies had to come up with ways to make sets safe for its casts and crews.
Since The Great British Baking Show is shot in a confined white tent full of ovens, shared space, and cooking supplies it presented an even tougher challenge for the BBC and Love Productions.
However, it looks like the companies put on their thinking hats and judges Paul Hollywood, Prue Lieth, as well as hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig are back with a slew of new contestants and everyone is ready to bake.
This is why ‘The Great British Baking Show’ is filmed in a white tent
The main issue with filming The Great British Baking Show amid COVID-19 is that the white tent poses a great health risk. When the series first premiered a decade ago, executive producer Anne Beattie was looking for a certain vibe and aesthetic for the series.
According to Mashed, Beattie landed on a “village fete” theme. Each year, the glorious white tent is pitched Welford Park in Berkshire. However, as we know, the temperature in the tent is unpredictable and uncontrollable. It also has very little ventilation which certainly seems concerning as far as the coronavirus is concerned.
Since the tent is usually filled to the brim were at least 12 contestants, plus the judges, hosts, and crew in week one, there is very little space. It would be very challenging to remain six-feet apart.
This is how ‘The Great British Baking Show’ has been secretly filming
Despite the challenges, it looks like BBC and Love Productions have come up with a clever way to film while ensuring the safety of everyone involved. Typically, contestants on the series already have a ton of obstacles before snagging a spot in the competition.
There is an eight-page long application filled with super specific questions. Then, there is an extensive interview which includes a 45-minute phone interview, making two baked goods, completing a screen test, and an in-person interview with a producer. If a contestant makes it past that, they have an in-person baking audition, and a meeting with a psychologist to be sure they can endure being filmed for 16 hours a day.
Contestants this year had to go through an additional step. They were already filming when production was halted. According to Deadline, now that filming has been underway again for two weeks, the crew, contestants, and judges were all quarantined prior to restarting filming. Also, the set was moved to a different location to making quarantining easier.
Here’s when the new season of ‘The Great British Baking Show’ will premiere
Obviously, fans who have been quarantining at home are thrilled with this news however, we still aren’t sure when a new season of The Great British Baking Show will debut. Chief Commercial Officer of Sky Studios Jane Millichip told Deadline, that U.K. fans might see the new season before the end of the year.
However, fans in the U.S. who rely on Netflix to view might have to wait until 2021.
