Two themed weeks from The Great British Bake Off were scrapped for the 2026 season

The themes for each week of The Great British Bake Off have been a bit different this year to previous seasons. Although the third episode of Bake Off is traditionally Bread Week, the 2026 season shook things up by introducing Audience Choice Week. The themes for each week may be a bit different to what viewers were expecting, as Bake Off had to scrap two themes for the 2026 season.

Now, the 2026 season of The Great British Bake Off was filmed from April to June. UK viewers will know very well that the country endured several record-breaking heatwaves during these months. The UK reached 35.1 °C in May, and 38.0 °C in June. These conditions made it rather challenging to make desserts in a tent. The themes for each week of Bake Off seem to have been altered due to the weather.

On 29th September, the official Bake Off TikTok account posted a video captioned: “We think it’s time to break the news to y’ll.” Text in the video says: “Hottest summer on record and there’s no Chocolate Week or Ice Cream Week.”

@britishbakeoff

We think it’s time to break this news to y’all. #GBBO #heatwave

♬ original sound – The Great British Bake Off

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The Great British Bake Off cast have also spoken about how the heat affected filming the 2026 season. Alison Hammond told the Radio Times: “This was the longest it was hot, wasn’t it? It’s the longest. Like, last year, I remember it was quite cold in the tent.” She added the weather “causes a lot of problems” in the show, and “there’s definitely jeopardy until the final.”

Noel Fielding explained: “Imagine it’s 33 [degrees], you’re in a tent, and then they’ve got 10 ovens on. It was absolutely ludicrous.”

If you were thrown by Audience Choice Week and missed watching Paul Hollywood slate people’s kneading skills, don’t fret! The fourth episode of The Great British Bake Off 2026 will be Bread Week.

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Featured image via Channel 4.