In the era of diet culture, why Nigella's outlook is the most refreshing thing to happen to Bake Off

Last Tuesday evening, I cosied up in front of the TV as usual, with my cup of tea and pack of biscuits at the ready to escape into another episode of The Great British Bake Off.

I’ve long been a Bake Off fan, but I came to the realisation recently that there’s something about this particular season that’s making me want to tune in more - and no, it’s not (just) the mouth-watering goodies.

It’s new judge Nigella Lawson is on my screen week after week, barely able to get her words out as she gives feedback to the contestants with her mouth still full of cake, before going in for a second bite. And when she’s not indulging in baked treats, she’s shutting down her co-host Paul Hollywood’s description of a cookie as ‘naughty’.

When the 60-year-old Bake Off legend used the word, his new co-host interjected: “I don’t approve of talking about food as naughty. We need to take our pleasures where we can in life.”

It’s a stark contrast to previous host Prue Leith, who previously came under fire for saying that cake was ‘not worth the calories’ - a catchphrase she has since dropped due to the backlash.

In 2026, where skinny culture is back with a vengeance, weight loss drugs are being advertised everywhere you look, Hollywood is getting thinner and thinner, and diet culture is being shoved down our throats by influencers who once shouted from the rooftops about body positivity or body neutrality, Lawson’s attitude is a welcome act of rebellion.

Eating for pleasure has become a lost art form. Attitudes towards food have shifted massively toward functional utility (with mindful eating, prioritising whole foods and hitting your daily protein goal paramount), which is sadly often at the expense of culinary enjoyment.

So, her sheer adamance to taste every yummy bake properly and lean into enjoyment is what Bake Off is all about - and something we should be embracing in the real world.

Like so many of us, I’ve fallen into the sad first date trap of feeling like you can’t order a big juicy burger, no matter how much we might want one, because women are supposed to get a salad, or pick at our food in a delicate and graceful way, whatever that means. Not to mention the sheer heartbreak of feeling like you have to say ‘no thank you’ when the dessert menu comes around, even though you’d kill for a sticky toffee pudding.

But Nigella is unpicking this narrative on a public platform, and it’s having more of an impact than I think she could have ever imagined.

One social media user wrote: “Nigella showing up on Bake Off and immediately knocking Paul off his throne and being anti-diet culture language oh that’s my QUEEN.”

While a second agreed: “I don't believe food is naughty. Yes, Nigella - shout it from the Heavens. Foods shouldn't be demonised; food should be enjoyed #GBBO #TheGreatBritishBakeOff.”

And a third wrote: “I don't approve of talking about food as naughty" Finally said on TV, thank you, #GBBO Nigella Lawson. Food does not have moral value.”

Nigella herself has spoken out about the phenomenon and recognised the importance of not taking those ‘smaller mouthfuls’.

As reported by The Telegraph, she recently told Woman’s Weekly magazine: “At the beginning, when there were all the bakers there, I did feel I was challenging my system. But I like to be able to taste things properly. I’m an eater.”

She continued: “I did actually implore Paul: ‘Gosh, how do you manage all that?’ He said: ‘Well, you could take smaller mouthfuls.’ And I realised no, I couldn’t.”

Body confidence activist Alex Light told BBC Woman’s Hour that the negative reaction to Nigella’s healthy attitude towards food is ‘so revealing of our society and how we see ‘women’s eating and women’s appetites’.

She explained: “We’ve been told for so long to eat less, take up less space, be smaller. Traditionally, the stereotype is that men have these big, hearty appetites. They eat the big steak, and then they go for seconds. And then women, they have the salad; they have the smaller plate. They’re dainty and polite and delicate. And we are taught that eating less and having the smaller appetite is some kind of feminine virtue.”

I, for one, love that Nigella is quite frankly ripping that stereotype apart. Watching a hugely successful and famous woman eat massive mouthfuls of cake on national TV without a care in the world is what 2026 needed.

We can’t wait to see her continue to squash diet culture, one ginormous bite at a time.