TEARFUL Diana Beard last night ended the Great British Bake Off “whobunnit” by
confessing: “Yes, I DID take Iain’s ice cream out of the freezer.”
The Women’s Institute stalwart admitted causing fellow contestant Iain Watters
to go into a furious meltdown over his “sabotaged” Baked Alaska dessert.
But she denied doing it deliberately and slammed the BBC for editing the show
in a way which “stitched her up” and made her look a villain.
The 69-year-old also revealed she had been forced to quit midway through the
series after blacking out and losing her sense of taste and smell.
The former WI judge said: “It’s a relief, as people now know the truth. I’ve
been really stitched up, haven’t I? I am very disappointed.”
Meanwhile, angry fans called for Iain to be reinstated as the BBC confirmed it
had received nearly 600 complaints and watchdog Ofcom was poised to
investigate.
Wednesday night’s show featured footage suggesting Diana had ruined his
dessert on purpose by taking it out of a freezer and leaving it in the sun
to collapse.
Iain hurled it in the bin in disgust and walked out of the Bake Off tent —
then was booted off the show because he had nothing to present to judges
Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry.
But yesterday Diana, from Whitchurch, Shropshire, insisted she was no saboteur
— blaming the incident on a mistake caused by “very limited” freezer space.
As she went to put her own dessert in the freezer allocated to her, it came as
an “utter surprise” to find someone else’s already there.
She said: “I asked whose it was and took it out because mine needed freezing.
Then Iain came and took it away.
“It was horrendous in there, absolute chaos and so hot. I’m just sorry Iain
threw his in the bin.”
Diana pointed out that contestants were all amateurs and that there was no
cash prize at stake.
She added angrily: “This has made it look like a cut-throat competition.
Somebody is culpable for the editing, exploiting normal everyday people for
entertainment.
“The BBC painted me. Anyone who knows me knows I haven’t got that sort of bone
in my body.” Diana was branded a cheat in a Twitter storm which also saw
demands for her to be sent home.
But she quit the show anyway on the morning of filming of Episode 5 after
blacking out.
She said: “I fainted — which I have never done — and bashed my head, severing
my olfactory nerve.
“So I have now lost my sense of smell and most of my taste.”
Last night even Iain agreed he believed Diana had been made a scapegoat to
boost viewing figures.
Iain, 31, said: “I don’t hold any grudges and the reaction has been nasty to
her. Editing can be done in different ways.”
Judge Mary dismissed the idea Diana had done anything wrong as “rubbish”. And
host Sue Perkins said there had been “no sabotage”.
Last night the BBC insisted it had not misled viewers.
A spokesman said: “Iain left because he didn’t present Mary and Paul with
anything to judge.”
Click
here to make your own delicious version of Mary Berry’s take on the Baked
Alaska
Mary Berry: Blame Iain
MARY Berry yesterday insisted Diana Beard was innocent of sabotage.
The Bake Off queen told DJ Chris Evans on Radio 2: “What absolute rubbish.”
Mary, 79, said it was Iain Watters’ own fault his melting Baked Alaska could
not be judged after he chucked it in a bin.
She said fellow pensioner Diana was “upset to see him go”.
Saddened Mary added: “He is without doubt a brilliant baker and we saw a great
future for him.”
No cheat, says pal
A WOMEN’S Institute pal of Diana said last night she should sue anyone trying
to “blacken her name”.
Joan Bell, 89, said: “I have known her since she was a toddler.
“When I knew she was on the programme I said, ‘No one will be able to to touch
her. She is that good’.
“No way in the world would she have tried to cheat. Diana would not need to
break the rules to win.
“I think she should sue anybody who is trying to blacken her good name.”
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