Interview with Scarlett Moffatt

16 March 2020

Can you bake? Rate yourself out of 10.

One! I just don’t bake, it’s something I don’t do. It’s just so easy to walk to the shop. I’ve never thought to myself “I’ll just bake a cake for shits and giggles.” That’s never on my agenda.

If you were forced to bake something, what would you bake?

A Victoria Sponge. I feel like it’s the easiest thing to make or a caterpillar cake, everyone loved a caterpillar cake as a kid!

Are you a Bake Off fan?

Oh my God, I love Bake Off! I absolutely love it. It’s amazing. It feels weird, being in the tent, it’s really exciting.

Does that make it more nerve-wracking, appearing on the show?

I just don’t want to be shown up!

Who do you want to impress the most? Paul or Prue?

I want to impress both of them, but getting a complement off Paul Hollywood is the kind of thing you put on your CV, because the man never gives them out, does he? So I’m trying to impress Paul.

Who do you see as your biggest competition?

I suppose all of them. They’re all older than me, they’ve got children, and you tend to bake with your children. I’m probably at a little bit of a disadvantage.

Have you had any baking disasters?

I’ve never actually baked to have a disaster!

What do you think strength in your baking might be?

I think I’ve got good patience. And that’s needed in baking, isn’t it, because there can be a lot of waiting around. So patience.

Why are you supporting Stand Up to Cancer?

I think everybody’s been affected by cancer at some point. I’ve had friends and family who’ve had it. When I was young, my dad had skin cancer, which was awful. We didn’t know if he was going to make it home for Christmas, it was horrific. If things had gone differently, I might not have had my dad, I’d have never seen him again. Sadly, there are people who won’t be as lucky as us. I think it’s really important to keep raising both money and awareness of this awful disease, and to eventually kick it out.

Did you get any advice when you were preparing for this show?

Literally nobody bakes in my family. I was ringing my aunties, and I didn’t tell them it was for the show, so I told them I was going to make my boyfriend a birthday cake and was after some tips/. No-one could help me, I ended up ringing my mum’s friend who makes my birthday cakes, called Amanda, and asking her to help me out. I’ve had a few tips from her.

Are you competitive? Do you want to be star baker?          

Yeah, it would be amazing, I think all of my family would be cheering at the TV if I did win Star Baker, but I can’t really see it happening. I know that sounds so defeatist, but I think that’s just too much of an unreachable dream!

How do you feel about the technical challenge?

Just the fact that you don’t know what it is makes it so scary.

If you were a baked good, what would you be?

I think I’d be a Jammy Dodger, because I feel like I’m quite jammy in life and I wear my heart on my sleeve.

You’ve been on An Extra Slice a couple of times. What was that like?

I just love the show, I’m a massive fan. I love Jo, I love going on and tasting stuff. It’s the best job ever, you just go along, talk about Bake Off, watch some exclusive clips and eat cake. It’s, like, the dream.

Did you ever review Bake Off on Gogglebox?

Yeah, all the time. And now that I’m actually here, I feel like I’m eating my words, because when you watch it, it’s easy to pass comment, but when you’re actually here you realise how nerve-wracking it is. So I apologise to anyone I dissed on Gogglebox.