Ellie Taylor channelled Claudia Winkleman as the stars of Bake Off: The Professionals showed off The Traitors-style looks. The comedian joined fellow presenter Liam Charles, as well as judges Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden, in a skit called The Bakers.
It began with Ellie, dressed up as Claudia, providing an introduction in the style of The Traitors. She said: 'Twelve pairs of pastry chefs, one stately home, two judges, a couple of hosts and over seventeen thousand miles of flaky pastry. This is The Bakers.'
After a gag of Ellie struggling to see with the fringe, the skit transitioned into a scene parodying The Traitors' iconic roundtable discussions. Ellie instructed Liam, Cherish and Benoit to vote out who they believe to be the 'Secret Baker'. Liam and Cherish voted off Benoit - incorrectly spelling his name in another Traitors nod - due to him wearing chef's clothing and having flour on his face.
Although in a twist, it transpired former Bake Off contestant Liam is the culprit, as he offers torte to the group. 'The time for torte is over!' Ellie punned, as the skit came to a humorous ending.
One fan commented underneath the post: 'The crossover I never knew I needed.' Another penned: 'Omg my two favorite worlds collide.' A third chimed in: 'This is easily the best intro that has ever been done on Bakeoff - cinema!!' While a fourth joked: '[Ellie] was taking notes on Claudia the whole time during her Strictly season!'
It comes as Claudia herself recently admitted she never expected The Traitors to become the huge success it is today. The BBC series has become one of the broadcaster's biggest recent hits, regularly pulling in millions of viewers. Speaking about her initial doubts about the show, Claudia revealed she was hesitant to sign up when the BBC first approached her. 'Traitors was not supposed to be what it was,' she told The Mirror. 'When the BBC asked me to go to Scotland for three weeks I was like: 'Oh, thanks for asking...' I said: 'No. I don't want to do that'.
Claudia explained how they sent her the Dutch version and told her to 'take a risk'. She continued: 'And I watched it and after three episodes I said I would get on the train and I am in.' But she was not alone in doubting the format's potential success. The Traitors was reportedly rejected by TV bosses in the Netherlands for seven years before eventually becoming a global phenomenon.
The award-winning show, which first launched in 2022, is now filming a second season of the celebrity spin-off. The BBC have reportedly been forced to double its £1million Celebrity Traitors budget for its second and most star-studded series yet. Money has also been spent on beefing up security to keep the stars safe and the castle's goings on under wraps ahead of transmission later this year. A source said: 'Although most of the stars are British, so many of them are used to working in America that their teams are used to the treatment.' They told The Sun: 'The production team have little choice, however, than to cater for their demands because they accept the number of A-listers taking part in this year's show makes it exceptional.'
