TV REVIEW: 'Great Comic Relief Bake Off' Episode 1 - Jo Brand, Stephen K Amos, Lorna Watson And Ingrid Oliver

TV REVIEW: Great Comic Relief Bake Off - An Unfunny Business

In testament to the popular grip the 'Great British Bake Off' has taken on the nation, the marquee has been handed over to a handful of celebs willing to get flour-dusted, in the name of raising some cash and inspiring viewers to do the same.

In the first of four shows this week, it was a bunch of comedians getting their aprons on - Jo Brand, Lorna Watson (of Watson and Oliver comedy duo), Ingrid Oliver of same, and Stephen K Amos.

Stephen K Amos, Jo Brand, Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver line up for the first edition of 'Great Comic Relief Bake Off'

The first task seemed deceptively easy - baking 18 bits of shortbread.

While Jo struggled with sitting in the butter, Stephen seemed a natural pastry roller until it transpired he'd forgotten the nuts! - while Ingrid went for the grovel card with a Mary Berry recipe.

The second task was creating eight custard slices, where the piping-bag lines made for most of the fun and frustration.

Only the show-stopping chocolate cakes, complete with famous faces on top, gave our comedians the chance to express themselves - Lorna, Ingrid and Stephen all opting for some familiar faces (Stephen even doing his own), with only Jo selecting somebody a bit more interesting and relevant to Comic Relief, Archbishop Desmond Tutu - when she wasn't disappearing for strange lengths of time outside the marquee.

But, all in all, the comedians were too busy panicking to make many gags, so the result was literally like watching paint dry, or rather biscuits cook, and depended a lot of the residual goodwill towards the usual programme.

Instead, the comedy came from the straight guys, with Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry doing their best to be polite with the very mixed bag of goodies they got to taste.

But a video in the middle reminded us why it was all in a good cause, and it was worth it, really, just to see Jo Brand bring Desmond Tutu to life in cake.

Do you think any of these will be crowned the series star baker?

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The Great Comic Relief Bake Off

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