Bake Off's Gluten-Free Challenge Airs Tonight - Will It Be Another Disaster?

Set your timers! Tonight's Great British Bake Off features a gluten-free challenge - making a decent cake. The question is, will they do it justice?

Now I love Bake Off. I really do. I don't focus on whether I can eat what they're making because I know I could make a decent gluten-free version. Instead, I love the cameraderie and the way ordinary people overcome hurdles.

But let's not be too generous: this is the show that's given us some of the most cringeworthy gluten-free moments in history - and that's putting it kindly.

8pm on Channel 4 tonight!

For those of you who'd like a reminder, here are some of the key moments:

😟 Jo Brand enthusiastically agreeing "Good for her!" after a contestant mentioned her coeliac mother still ate gluten

😟 Matt Lucas dismissing freefrom eating as "the vagaries and fripperies of fashion" (although when he saw the outburst from the coeliac community, he did try and remedy the problem the next day on social media)

😟 Aisling Bea's "joke" about 2020 winner Peter Sawkins and his gluten-intolerant twin brother: she suggested they could tell them apart by feeding them both gluten to see which one got bloated

😟 Let's not forget the gluten-free pitta bread technical where Paul Hollywood didn't even taste the bakes (we never learnt why but the most obvious answer is he thought they'd be awful)

So why does Bake Off keep taking on gluten-free challenges? If they really think they're that awful, shouldn't they just stick to meringues (if you'll pardon the pun) or school dinners or other fun titles they've had this series?

What saddens me about an otherwise lovely and comforting show is that there never seems to be any respect for gluten-free food. Instead, it's seen as a satanic task - one that's crazy to try and replicate. Historically, some of the contestants have seemed aghast at the idea anyone would want to eat gluten-free, clearly unable to grasp that it's a medical necessity for those of us with coeliac disease, NCGS, dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten-intolerance and more.

You may remember not so long ago that Junior Bake Off was won by a coeliac - Tilly - who proved that gluten-free bakers can absolutely compete at the highest level. Yet somehow, this incredible achievement was barely celebrated.

So why does tonight's gluten-free cake challenge matter? For me, it's the tiny spark of hope that Bake Off will finally showcase gluten-free baking as a genuine skill that's needed by coeliacs the world over. We're tired of being seen as a punchline or a fad. Instead, let's cross our fingers and wish Bake Off finally does us proud.

What are your gluten-free hopes for the show?