The Dough Also Rises on 'The Great British Baking Show's' Bread Week

Since the pandemic began in 2020, The Great British Baking Show has struggled mightily to sally forth. As one of the few live competitions to find a way to record and broadcast during some of the worst periods via the "Bake Off Bubble," it was a beacon of comfort. However, as vaccinations and boosters rolled out, the show decided it was through the worst of it and could go from the unideal five-weeks-cloistered version filmed at the height of summer back to a ten-weekends-in-the-spring production format.

There's one problem: COVID is still out there, which means if anyone gets the slightest bit sick — even if they test negative — the series has to exercise an abundance of caution. Perhaps they hoped to get lucky, and everyone would stay healthy. But between traveling the tent and home again each weekend and the high stress of the competition, immune systems were going to get hit.

By Week 3, the results are already evident, as Bread Week goes on with only eight of the ten contestants. Abdul and Rebs reported in "under the weather" and stayed home. This is the second time in GBBO history this has happened; in Series 9 (Netflix Collection 6), Terry sat out Dessert Week and then returned. (In Series 5 (PBS/Netflix Season/Collection 1), Diana left due to health issues after Iain's dramatic elimination, but she didn't return.) However, having two sit out a week like this is a first.