HALF BAKED
Coronation Street’s Catherine Tyldesley looks downcast as she’s seen in public for 1st time since ‘cake gate’ bakery row
CORONATION Street's Catherine Tyldesley has been seen for the first time since she was embroiled in a row over free cakes.
The actress and Strictly star appeared downcast on a trip to the gym after she hit out at a baker on Instagram.
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Catherine, who turns 40 next month, was criticised for slamming the baker after they exposed a request for free birthday cake in exchange for publicity on Instagram.
She was seen today returning to her car after a trip to the gym in Manchester.
Catherine wore black leggings and a crop top over her gym clothes.
She styled her hair down and straight and wore headphones, and tied a hoodie around her waist.
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The star clutched her phone as she hopped into her car, where she had earlier filmed a video blasting Three Little Birds Bakery owner Rebecca Severs.
Catherine took a swipe at the baker telling her followers: "Cake gate.
"What? Um, utterly bizarre, I don't really know what to say.
"I mean, I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving."
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Taking to the comment section in Catherine's latest Instagram post, one fan didn't hold back as they wrote: "Three years ago we were applauding the NHS.
"Now z list celebrities are trying to steal free products from struggling small businesses and then really stick the knife in with a vile post calling the bakery out for attention seeking. Wow."
Another wrote: "How about you address the fact that people are asking for freebies and lying on your behalf - instead of having a go at someone being asked to work hard and provide you with stuff for free!"
A third penned: "Your response to the “cake lady” was absolutely disgraceful. You are accountable for the actions of your team and trying to do harm to a small business when they won’t give you a freebie is a joke."
A company organising a 40th bash for the actress had approached Rebecca over a hefty order for two bespoke cakes.
However, Rebecca shut down Leeds-based party planners NVRLND who said she would be paid "in the form of social media promotion" by the "well-known celebrity".
Their brief included a request for a free cake for Catherine's 40th birthday - which falls in September - with a theme of "pinks, sparkles and a touch of flamingos".
A second freebie cake was requested for Catherine's husband, photographer Tom Pitfield, and 100 extra cupcakes.
In a tongue in cheek reply, Rebecca, owner of Three Little Birds Bakery in Keighley, West Yorkshire, wrote back: "I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses their products.
"Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment 'in the form of promotion on their socials', and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer."
Rebecca later told her own social media followers that she had been "blown away" by their support.
She added she was "so happy to see that so many other people agree that small business shouldn’t be taken advantage of!"
Actress Nicola Thorp, who appeared alongside Catherine on the ITV soap, insisted that it was her "duty" to make sure the baker was paid - and that she should never have "shot down another woman".
During an appearance on Talk TV, she sided with the bakery, and said: “I feel sorry first and foremost for the cake woman. She's brilliant.
“What she said is so clever. She was like, 'I can't pay my staff with heart emojis on Instagram'. She's absolutely right. She runs a business.
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“Why on earth should it be expected? Because this PR company are making money somehow. So they are getting money, they are just choosing not to pass it on to her.
“But it's also not Cath's fault, Catherine, because she wasn't aware of it and I believe that because this is just the way these PR companies work."
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