Nigella Lawson defended by Bake Off fans following 'disastrous' debut episode

Nigella Lawson has officially made her Great British Bake Off debut and earned a mixed review from fans of the beloved Channel 4 show.

The 66-year-old TV cook joined the baking show for the first time as a judge on Tuesday evening (22 September), joining Paul Hollywood for the new series, as well as hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.

She had big boots to fill as she replaced Dame Prue Leith, who was a judge on the Bake Off for almost a whole decade.

And as usual - the first episode was full of absolute chaos, with cakes being dropped, binned, and ruined, left, right and centre.

One X user penned: “TWO cakes on the floor in ep 1! Always worried about foraged ingredients. There's going to be tummy problems one day #GBBO @BritishBakeOff.”

While a second wrote: “So much cake on the floor, omg this is stressful #gbbo.”

And a third added: “Omg this is absolute madness!! Not sure a single cake didn’t collapse #GBBO.”

Viewers also offered up their thoughts on the show’s brand new judge, and bizarrely, many were honed in on Nigella’s style of cake tasting.

On social media, the TV chef has been told to ‘calm down’ with the cake eating… on a baking show. While others strangely said the way she eats cake is ‘really weird’.

One X user brutally wrote: “Nigella is perfect for the role but needs to calm down a bit when tasting, I think #GBBO.”

While a second questioned, “#GBBO Why is Nigella finding it so hard to eat? I’ve never seen someone struggle to eat a piece of cake so much!”

And a third and fourth said: “Watching Nigella eat cake really weirdly is . . . really weird #GBBO” and “Why is Nigella eating like this is the first time she’s ever used cutlery? #GBBO #Bakeoff.”

Others made sure to defend the judge, though, and rightly point out that isn’t the whole point of the show to eat cake?!

“Nigella eating cake with zero shame is iconic,” gushed one fan.

While a second agreed: “I love how when Nigella is tasting each cake, she takes an absolutely massive bite #GBBO.”

And a third added: “I'm so used to Mary and Prue taking tiny little spoonfuls when tasting bakes. Nigella taking proper-sized ones and giving great tasting-face is incredible #GBBO.”

A fourth wrote: “I love the size of the servings Nigella is shovelling into her mouth compared to Paul! I love her so much. #GBBO.”

A fifth said: “Love how Nigella is inhaling these cakes - proper tasting, what a woman! #gbbo.”

And a sixth penned: “Obsessed with how Nigella is almost shovelling the cake into her mouth; she’s so real cos I too would be devouring all of those cakes lmao #bakeoff.”

During the first episode, Nigella said she ‘loved’ being in the tent, as she said: “I’m full of cake and hope and expectation. The standard is incredibly high.”

Discussing the bakers, she added: “It’s also important for them to learn. None of us are finished articles.”

I don’t know about you, but we can’t wait to see what else Nigella brings to the iconic tent!