This Is Why ‘The Great British Baking Show’ Has a Different Name in the U.K.

The 2020 season of The Great British Baking Show is underway and we’re super excited to see what the contestants pull off this year.  Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are back in the saddle to access what the contestants can do.

While the series has had extensive fans across the globe, fans have noticed something very different from the U.K. version of the baking series. Though the white tent, ovens, and technical challenges are the same, the name is different.

This is why The Great British Baking Show is called The Great British Baking Off in the U.K.

‘The Great British Baking Show’ was filmed in quarantine for the 2020 season

For some time, fans were concerned that we wouldn’t be getting a season of The Great British Baking Show this year. After all, the show was only a couple of days into filming when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.K. and production had to be closed down.

Luckily, the BBC and Baking Show’s production company came up with a safe way to safely film for the cast and crew. According to Deadline, the crew, contestants, and judges were all quarantined prior to restarting filming. Also, the set, which includes the massive white tent was moved to a more central location so that no one would be inconvenienced.

It was a long journey for the 12 contestants this season. Even before beginning their first day in the tent, they were required to go through an extensive screening and interview sequence. It includes a 45-minute phone interview, two bakes, a screen test, an in-person interview, an in-person audition, and a meeting with the show’s therapist.

This is what happens to the leftover bakes on ‘The Great British Baking Show’

Thankfully, all of the hard work that goes into getting on the Baking Show pays off in a very sweet way. None of the contestants’ bakes are wasted (provided they are yummy enough to eat.) The show’s chief home economist, Faenia Moore, explained to BBC Good Food,

It all gets eaten, but in a controlled way. It’s important for the bakers to eat what they’ve slaved over, so after each challenge, I make up a ‘baker’s basket’ to go to their lunchroom. Then any leftovers go to the crew lunch. Everyone gets quite excited so you have to say: ‘Step back, we need to do this in an orderly fashion.’

This is why ‘The Great British Baking Show’ is called ‘The Great British Bake Off’ in the U.K.

Fans in the U.S. have been able to watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix for the past several years, while fans in the U.K. catch the series on BBC. However, you may have noticed that in the U.K. the show is called The Great British Bake Off.

This is because the General Mills-owned American company Pillsbury owns the trademark for “bake-off. ”  Pillsbury also has their own “bake-off” competition which started way back in 1949.