Tuesday 13 September 2022 10:11 PM Great British Bake Off: Will is the first to leave as fans praise show for ... trends now

The Great British Bake Off tent returned on Tuesday night with viewers praising the show for bringing back 'a slice of happiness' following the Queen's death.

The latest series of the Channel 4 show saw Will, 45, sadly become the first baker to be sent home, while Yanusz, 34, was crowned as star baker.

After the episode, viewers gushed that the show had brought 'comfort' following the sad news of the Queen's death, which has seen TV schedules change ahead of Monday's funeral.

Former charity director Will said he was 'disappointed' to be the first to leave the tent after he had a difficult few challenges, including forgetting to set his timer in the first challenge.

'Somebody has got to go first. Obviously I'm disappointed, but I'm proud to have made it. I've met a lovely bunch of people and got an experience I can share,' he said after his exit.

After the much-anticipated return of Bake Off, viewers were quick to take to Twitter to thank the series for 'bringing back a slice of happiness' and a 'calming distraction' at a time of mourning following the Queen's death.

One person wrote: 'Oh bake off, thank you for bringing back a slice of happiness.'

Another said: 'Bake Off is the calming distraction I need from everything right now.'

A third commented: 'Its not even funny how much i have been relying on the promise bake off for happiness all week.'

And a fourth added: 'Happiness had been restored bake off is back on TV.'

While a fifth gushed: Never been so grateful bake off was moved to C4. Need the light entertainment at this point in the week.'

The Great British Bake Off aired as planned on Tuesday amid recent scheduled changes following the Queen's death.

Her Majesty passed away aged 96 on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle and her coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday ahead of her funeral on Monday. 

Amid a period of mourning following the death of the country's longest-reigning monarch, many TV shows have been cancelled in favour of news coverage.

Strictly Come Dancing's launch show has been postponed until Friday September 23, after originally being set to air on September 17, but Channel 4's Great British Bake Off went ahead as planned.

Fans were eagerly awaiting the return of the show, and they weren't disappointed as it kicked off with an amusing Star Wars introduction filled with baking style puns.

As the Star Wars theme tune blared, the introductory words flew on screen, reading: 'A long time ago in a tent far, far away.'

Hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding brought their comedic flare as they dressed up as versions of Luke and Leila Skywalker, with Noel wearing bread as her signature bun hairstyle.

Prue Leith then appeared as Chewbacca, while Paul entered as Darth Vadar, before slicing Matt's pie in half with his lightsaber, joking 'it's a little on the dark side'. 

Viewers were then introduced to the 12 contestants as Noel and Matt revealed the first signature challenge of the series.

The hosts told the contestants that they were to make mini sandwich cakes, but could make them in any shape of flavour they desired. 

Matt jokingly told the contestants: 'You have one hour.'

His revelation was met by gasps from the contestants, but he then revealed the true time they had allocated, saying: 'A sandwich between two halves, you have two hours!'

Revealing what they expected from the bakers in the first task, Prue said: 'We're looking for a bit of originality.'

While Paul added: 'It's the first time the bakers are going to show us what they are going to bake, so this is really important.'

The bakers got started on their first bakes, with Rebecca making hazelnut mocha latte sandwiches and software engineer Abdul making raspberry jam filled treats. 

Full time nanny Sandro said he was making chocolate flower pods filled with red wine ganache, while Kevin made Persian Love Cakes with a rose water and cardamon sponge, and James made sticky coffee apple candles.

Dawn, who was making lime and tamarind spring cakes, used to be a project manager for Boris Johnson, and said she got the chance to meet the former Prime Minister in her work.

But all did not go smoothly for the bakers, as Will had an early blunder after putting his ginger and caramel squares in the oven, revealing he forgot to turn his timer on.

'C**p, I forgot to turn it on!', he said, but insisted he would be able to visually tell when his treats were done.

And Maxy also started feeling the pressure as Matt announced they had just one hour left, but she was yet to bake her meringues, which take an hour to bake. 

Things continued to heat up for Will as his Italian meringue split twice, leaving him very stressed in the final moments of the two-hour task.

'I need to make a buttercream, how do I make a buttercream? Butter and sugar,' he stressed.

Youngest baker Maisam, who made pistachio sponge filled with raspberry jam and buttercream, also faced a hurdle when her own buttercream curdled, with her saying: 'It will take some time to fix it.'

She ended the challenge by admitting she was pleased with the flavour of her cakes but not the look of them, as she prepared for her first judging. 

Rebecca, known as Rebs, also said she was having a 'frigging nightmare' as she tried to assemble her cakes. 

Prue and Paul did not shy away from giving honest feedback, criticising Maisam's bakes for their 'messy' appearance while Rebs was told to be 'careful' with her flavours by Paul.

Carol received high praise from Paul and Prue, who gushed over how her bee-themed sandwich cakes looked, and also the exceptional flavour.

Sandro, Abdul and Maisam were also thrilled after receiving excellent comments from the judges.

Prue said Will had been hit by the pressure of the 'Bake Off tent' when he said his meringue had gone wrong, before describing his bake as 'disappointing'.

'It's interesting to have a disaster in your first challenge, not my finest moment I think it's fair to say,' Matt admitted as he spoke after the challenge.

Paul then set the bakers first technical challenge, which was revealed to be an 'all American classic' red velvet cake.

In traditional Bake Off style, bakers were left stressed by the vague instructions, which simply told them to make the red velvet cake.

Dawn left Noel in stitches as she revealed she was 'probably under the influence of alcohol' last time she made a red velvet cake more than ten years ago.

Rebs was faced with a disaster as her cakes sunk when she took them out of the oven due to not being done yet, as the bakers got started

read more from dailymail.....