I’ll never forget the first time I watched The Great British Bake Off. At the time I wasn’t much into reality TV because of the constant drama of it all, but the BBC competition show is so much different than the norm. There’s a brush of calm that washes over me (and it’s millions of fans) when it comes on. But, I just found out that that wasn’t originally the case. The Great British Bake Off has been around for over 15 years now, and thought of as one of the best reality TV shows ever due to its much softer approach to the genre. One of the original hosts, Mel Giedroyc, recalled what the first day on set was actually like, and wow. As she shared: Day one, series one, shooting Bake Off, I phoned my agent, and I said ‘I want out of this.’ … I’ve never done this before in my life. I’ve only done it once. It had been like an 18-hour shoot, and everyone was in tears. And I just thought, I’ve never worked like this before. Pretty unbelievable, isn’t it? In a recent interview on How To Fail with Elizabeth Day, the host that shared the gig with Sue Perkins for seven series of Bake Off, spilled the details. As she added: So, there was a bit of a summit meeting, where I spoke up and I just said, ‘This is not the kind of show we want to make. I’m really sorry. We won’t get the best out of the people. I don’t like this vibe where everyone’s crying, and then suddenly they’re on camera.'While one could argue that tons of reality TV probably have that “vibe”, it didn’t sit right with Giedroyc. It sounds like her and possibly others involved decided to speak up on the matter. Here’s what happened next, in her words: I’ve never threatened anything like that in my life. I’m just not that kind of person. But I felt in that instance I had to say something because it would have been really grim. And things changed after that day. So… we were as a collective, we were proud of ourselves that we sort of spoke because I think it would have been a very different show. I don’t know about you, but I had no idea this was part of The Great British Bake Off’s origin story. Hosts do help set the tone for a series, and I’m so happy Mel spoke her peace. Genuinely, I don’t think it would be what it is today if she hadn’t, based on her anecdote. Giedroyc and Perkins haven’t been on Bake Off since 2016, but her and Perkins will always be my favorite hosts because they were the first I watched it. To date, The Great British Bake Off has been around for 16 seasons, and has had several spinoffs like the well-received celebrity edition. It's about to start its 17th cycle as part of the 2026 TV schedule, and this time around, there’s a shake up since Prue Leith decided to step down and is being replaced with Nigella Lawson as the second judge next to Paul Hollywood. Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will continue to serve as co-hosts for the fourth series in a row. You can stream The Great British Bake Off starting next week when it debuts on Channel 4 on Tuesday, September 22 and will become available to watch with a Netflix subscription on Fridays, starting on September 25. Everyone, say thank you to Mel for helping make the series as wholesome as it is!