Oct
19
2013

Great British Babe Off

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So, The Daily Fail has waded in, in its usual bellend fashion, claiming viewers were furious because Ruby ‘cried her way to the final’ in Great British Bake-Off. Oh, and Hollywood fancied her, so she was a shoe-in anyway. And the other contestants were dry-eyed throughout…? I don’t think so. Even if Haughty Hollywood and Slightly Less Steely Berry had been moved by the tears, would they really have made a snap decision and ousted Ruby over Beca? The latter was lovable charm personified but more unstable in the buns department, having already been in last chance saloon more than once. In that episode they both made mistakes, but the Welsh winker was no match overall for Ruby’s thrice Star Baker record.

Admittedly, Ruby does cry very beautifully. No red snotty nose for her, just a Disney-style tear trickling down her cheek. And herein lies the nub of the problem. We, although I’m not sure who I mean by that, I don’t feel this myself, don’t like women who are beautiful AND good at something. And she’s studying philosophy too, so you can add some brains to the cake-mix. I heard recently (completely forgotten where and it might have been conducted as a deliberate social experiment) about a blonde woman who wasn’t receiving any job offers at interview until she cut her hair short and dyed it brown.

There are other attractive women in the Bake-Off tent, but none in that stop-the-traffic league. Ruby does try the patience somewhat with her wistful melancholy about her poor performance when usually it’s outstanding, but I don’t believe it’s fake. My eight year old son is much the same, needing constant boosting (gawd knows where it comes from with him). The footage will have been edited to play up this aspect of her character, happy shots ending up on the cutting room floor. I would imagine Ruby has become accustomed to people not paying much attention to anything other than her looks and it is genuinely surprising to her that she has this talent.

Personally, I’m rooting for Frances. All this yarp about style over substance doesn’t cut it with me. They ask for showstoppers and that’s what she gives them. Things that are extraordinary to look at and truly inventive. And by the way, have you taken the test to find out if you’re hated by the Daily Mail…? Unless you’re Michael Gove, it’s all of us.

Image courtesy of [stockimages] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

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