Stacey Dooley, 33, has shared how she felt “very foolish” for not doing any baking preparation prior to taking part in The Great Celebrity Bake-Off, as she got the impression some of her co-stars including Jade Thirwall and Daisy Ridley may have been “practising”. The documentary filmmaker also compared how the show felt very “different” to the long “slog” of appearing in Strictly Come Dancing, which she won alongside dance partner and now boyfriend Kevin Clifton back in 2018.
Opening up on whether she had been brushing up on her baking skills ahead of the series, Stacey revealed: “No, which was very foolish, because I’m getting the impression the people, I’ll be in the tent with may have been practising – certainly a couple of them.
“It’s not the first time they’ve done it, but for me, I’m coming at it totally fresh. But actually, I wonder if that’ll make me better. I’ll be so reliant on the recipe, it’s all about precision isn’t it, so maybe it’ll help that I’ll stick so firmly to the recipe.
“And I won’t be complacent, because I know I’ll have to pull it out of the bag,” she added to Channel 4.
Long-time judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will be judging the incoming celebrities’ baking efforts, in aid of charity.
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Last year’s Celebrity Bake Off specials saw comedian Jenny Eclair as week one’s winner, while Inbetweeners star James Buckley was crowned Bake Off champion in the following episode.
Queer Eye’s Tan France was week three’s Star Baker, while YouTuber Joe Sugg won week four, followed by Countdown star Carol Vorderman in episode five.
For Stacey, she only had to film her scenes over a couple of days, which she said has come as a welcome relief from Strictly, which involved her “slogging” her “guts out for months”.
Speaking on the difference between the two competitions, the TV personality divulged: “I’m only here for a couple of days, so it feels like a bit of a treat.
Aside from polishing her baking skills, Stacey has been busy renovating the new home she has moved into with her boyfriend Kevin.
After moving in together last summer, Stacey explained: “It’s my first proper house. I’ve always lived in flats.
“Tiny flats. I’ve never had stairs before. Or a garden. Or my own front door,” she added to Daily Mail.
Stacey shared that lockdown made the couple stronger as they bonded over the redecoration of their new abode.
She told The Mirror: “I call him Kev Titchmarsh. He loves the garden.
“When the lockdown kicked off, we were in this tiny flat and I thought, ‘We need a house’.
“So we bought the house and have a garden – and Kev is never out of it.
“I think if I’d have been single [during the lockdown], I’d have been so lonely. It breaks my heart, the idea that people had to go through this alone.”
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer airs tonight on Channel 4 at 8pm.