john lithgow 1© Photo: Channel 4

John Lithgow stole the show on Celebrity Bake Off

We were delighted to spot this detail!

TV & Film Editor
March 6, 2019

The first episode of The Celebrity Bake Off aired on Channel 4 on Tuesday night, and fans fell in love with Hollywood star John Lithgow, who took part in the competition with his fellow contestants, Russell Brand, Jon Richardson and Hannah Cockroft. While the actor, who played Winston Churchill in The Crown, was no means the best baker, he won over the hearts of the nation with his hilarious approach to his somewhat dodgy bakes.

© Photo: Channel 4

John won fans over with his baking skills

The star struggled with the signature challenge of chocolate brownies by complicating the icing by trying to replicate the Union Jack and American stars and stripes flag, and came in last place during the technical challenge after under baking his Swiss roll. Speaking about the actor's antics, one person tweeted: "John Lithgow whispering 'Swiss roll' to himself in a quiet panic has been a highlight tbh," while another added: "John Lithgow baking on celebrity #gbbo is the one thing I never knew I needed in my life. He's just simply ADORABLE."

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The cherry on the cake was when John created a gingerbread rendition of a scene of the popular Netflix show The Crown where he included a gingerbread version of himself as Winston Churchill. One person wrote: "JOHN LITHGOW IS MAKING A SCENE FROM "THE CROWN" IN GINGERBREAD INCLUDING HIMSELF AS WINSTON CHURCHILL… This is wonderful and meta and I love this so much." Unfortunately despite all of his efforts, John didn't quite make it to Star Baker, which was awarded to Russell Brand thanks to his impressive biscuit display shaped as a vagina and admirable chocolate brownies. Speaking about winning thanks to his risqué biscuit, he tweeted: "The creative power of women is always best rendered through shortbread."

READ: Take a peek inside the homes of Celebrity Bake Off stars Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood and more

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