In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Great British Bake Off 2018 star Karen Wright, 61, said she decided to help fellow baker Kim-Joy with a task in week two, after viewers accused her of being smug and a “game player” in week one.
She was the first contestant to finish the initial biscuit challenge and was later filmed eating crisps while looking at her fellow bakers, who were still working.
Her actions were slammed by some viewers on social media, who claimed she was being smug.
Explaining all, she said: “I got slated in the first week.
“Nothing went wrong [on the task], so I finished on time that week and was on the bench, so I wasn’t really aware that much what was going on.
“Then I just spied this little packet of crisps, they give you a tupperware box with your choice of snack. So my choice of snack was crisps.
“I found my stall and I started eating these Walkers Squares and I didn’t realise they were filming this.
“They see me sitting there and I must say my face did look smug.
“I was glancing around at this stage at all the other bakers in the last few minutes in panic and I didn’t help.
“In fact, I offered them a crisp. So basically social media got on to that and a lot of people thought I was a really mean cow because they said I was ‘game playing’ and was trying to make the other bakers think, ‘Oh look at her she’s finished and knows she’s good’ when actually I just eating my crisps.”
After the backlash, Karen opted to help Kim-Joy with her task in week two.
“I did help Kim-Joy finish her caramel because I did see the social media outcry that, ‘Karen is a horrible cow’, so I thought I better start being kind!”
Despite her efforts, Karen was voted out of the show by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith during spice week.
Kim-Joy made it the final with Ruby Bhogal and winner of the series Rahul Mandal.
During our chat, Karen Wright went on to explain what the show’s rules are.
She said: “The main thing is no mobile phones, so you can’t sneak a camera in.
“That was like a phone policy every morning, you had to hand it in and you got it back when you got on the bakers bus back to the hotel.”
As well as this, the baking enthusiast said the contestants are told to wear the same clothes for filming.
She continued: “And the old clothes one where you had to wear the same clothes every day.”
Elsewhere, Karen has been keeping up with this year’s Great British Bake Off and has predicted the winner.
She said: “I keep saying David [Atherton]. I know others are saying Henry [Bird] and Michael [Chakraverty] and Steph [Blackwell].
“I think David looks like he should win, the whole thing about him, I can just see him going far.”
The Great British Bake Off continues tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.