'The Great British Bake Off' will no longer feature national-themed weeks.
Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith will no longer be judging nation-themed weeks on 'The Great British Bake Off'
The Channel 4 baking competition returns to screens this month for a new series that will see Alison Hammond join as Noel Fielding's presenting partner but the country-themed challenges will not be coming back after criticism from viewers.
The show had a Japan week in 2020, a German week in 2021 and then a Mexican week last year that attracted criticism when hosts Fielding and Matt Lucas wore sombreros and spoke in Spanish accents.
The programme's executive producer Kieran Smith told The Guardian newspaper: "We didn't want to offend anyone but the world has changed and the joke fell flat.
"We're not doing any national themes this year."
Smith confirmed that the latest series - in which Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will return as judges - will focus on "traditional" elements of baking.
He said: "We're doing all of the regular weeks: Cakes, biscuits, bread, patisserie, chocolate, plus party cakes is a new theme."
Hollywood was "gutted" after last year's Mexican episode was met with a backlash as he had only recently visited the country and had a big hand in the episode's content.
The 57-year-old star said: "I'd literally come back from Mexico about three weeks before we filmed the episode.
"I was all over the place, and we set the challenges based on what I'd seen there. The challenges were very good, and everyone did a good job."
Prue, 83, added that the show did not set out to cause controversy.
She said: "The thing about Bake Off is that it absolutely represents inclusivity and diversity and tolerance and togetherness.
"So the idea that we set out to insult anybody is ridiculous."
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