Great British Bake Off denies product placement

Great British Bake Off denies product placement
Great British Bake Off denies product placement (Image credit: PA)

The Great British Bake Off has run into trouble after breaking the BBC's own editorial standards. One viewer wrote in to the Radio Times to complain that the Smeg fridge freezer company logo was seen on screen 37 times in one episode of the series, which features hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. Andrew Smith, from Manchester, also complained the firm's website said it had 'once again teamed up with the show to supply six iconic ... fridge-freezers'. Emma Willis, The Great British Bake Off's executive producer, said there was 'absolutely no product placement in the series'. She said the BBC asked Smeg to remove the offending claim from its website which had gone up without its 'blessing'. A BBC spokesman said: "It is inevitable due to the nature of the show, the baker's activities and the set, that some equipment will be seen in shot but production are always looking to minimise product prominence where possible. "A range of products from different suppliers are used on the show to ensure the bakers can fairly compete and meet their challenges. Love, the independent production company, had a loan agreement with Smeg to supply the fridges. That loan agreement did not meet editorial guidelines therefore it is being revised for this series and hire payments that meet the guidelines will be made."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.