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BBC Great British Bake Off (GBBO)

Great British Bake Off opener pulls 9.3m viewers into BBC One

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

August 6, 2015 | 2 min read

The return of the Great British Bake Off drew to BBC One 9.3 million viewers, two million more than last season’s opener.

On Wednesday evening, the show pit 12 amateur bakers in fierce competition to battle for the GBBO crown. The audience will likely feature prominently on social media this season after 2014's show boasted 170 per cent more tweets than 2013's thanks to scandals such as #BinGate. Mary Berry, the #BinGate antagonist (pictured), was as a result the most talked about person on the show in 2014 with 44,700 mentions.

This year’s 9.3m opener eclipses 2014’s 7.2m and 2013’s 5.6m audiences, showing consistent growth each season. Furthermore, on Wednesday evening, 43 per cent of all UK TV viewers were tuned into the Bake Off reaching a peak of 10 million at 20:50.

The popularity comes after host Sue Perkins was earlier this year abused by trolls due to her being linked to a then vacant Top Gear slot.

Needless to say, Perkins has amassed a sizeable following at the helm of BBC’s latest flagship sho GBBO instead.

BBC Great British Bake Off (GBBO)

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