Four of the nation's much-loved celebrities Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders, Lulu and Dame Edna Everage entered the Great British Bake Off marquee for the first episode of The Great Comic Relief Bake Off on Wednesday evening – and between them they pulled in a whopping 6.4 million viewers.
© Photo: BBCThe first simple enough sounding challenge set by juedges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood that the Absolutely Fabulous stars, singer and TV host faced was to make a giant cookie with writing piped on it. But the celebrities still managed to make some schoolgirl errors – Lulu used egg whites instead of yolks in her shortcrust pastry and Joanna Lumley put instant coffee in her cake instead of cocoa powder. Jennifer Saunders miscalculated her measurements for the cocoa powder so that her cookie, which was meant to look like a slice of toast, ballooned in the oven.
© Photo: BBCAnd of course Dame Edna proved a hit in the kitchen – the glamourous character needed help from Joanna getting her apron on and then when it came to the task in hand she was brimming with confidence, despite having to cut her first creation free from the baking tray with a pair of pliers. She gave a dazzling performance as she kneaded the dough with all of her sparkling rings still firmly in place - "I can't take them off because I don’t trust anyone here," she said.
© Photo: BBCAfter the cookies round, Mary set one of her classic recipes, 12 mini fruit tarts, as the technical challenge. The demanding showstopper challenge was a tiered chocolate cake inspired by a memorable occasion. Who took the Star Baker title? The Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders. Check out the second episode of the four-episode series on 18 February on BBC1 at 8:30pm
