'CRIED SO MUCH'
I was on Bake Off and C4 offered no support after trolls attacked my looks – I was exhausted, says Laura Adlington
GREAT British Bake Off star Laura Adlington has said she felt exhausted on the show and she wasn't supported throughout the process.
The 2020 series runner up claimed she never received counselling and support promised by Channel 4 when making the series and when she was hounded by fat-shaming trolls as it aired.
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Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood jumped in to defend her from social media attacks after she made it through to the final over the viewers' favourite Hermine.
But Laura felt more could have been done and explained: "I think after Bake Off, I really lost my confidence, because there was so much horribleness around it.
"And someone gave me some really bad advice, saying stay on Twitter because you might get work from it. But it was so bad for my mental health. It was awful.
"I remember when I got through to the final over Hermine, (and I was thinking) how the hell am I trending? And there were 120 Ofcom complaints about it.
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"I think I put a statement on Twitter saying something like you're allowed to get upset that your favourite person didn't get through.
"I actually agree with you but for the record you weren't there, you didn't taste it.
"I explained how my cake always looks a bit rustic and that's it and it's really all about the taste and the flavour."
She added that there the personal attacks left her feeling like she didn't want to be here.
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"When it was all really kicking off was on the week of the final. People were just being awful and it was really personal stuff as well," she said on podcast with Em Clarkson and Alex Light.
"It was personal stuff like infertility and other personal things. People were saying things like 'It was no wonder you can't have a baby'
"It just got really bad. I remember thinking, not I want to kill myself, but I remember crying in bed and being like, this would just be so much easier if I was not here, if I did not exist."
Laura explained that the seven week process was "exhausting" as she reflected on filming the show.
She added: "We filmed Bake Off it in a heatwave. I was seven weeks away from home. I was honestly mentally and physically exhausted.
"We didn't really have any support from the counsellors that they promised or anything and by the end of the filming, I was literally [left feeling] like I'm done. I don't even want to do it.
"I just cried so much but when I came out of Bake Off, it really knocked my confidence every time I was baking.
"I bake a bit now but not as much as I used to. I'd kind of lost my love for a little bit."
BACKLASH
Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood hit out at vile trolls back in 2020 when he wrote on Twitter: "I’ve heard of some sad people trolling Laura, it’s disgusting behaviour."
Laura responded at the time: "Thank you Paul that really means a lot to me."
However she has still faced horrifying messages and hit out at one troll last year who told her "your husband must dread having sex with you."
She said: "This vile message broke me yesterday. It was so personal, especially the baby comment, and I felt absolutely heartbroken somebody could be so cruel.
"It made me want to delete my account and hide away."
In January, Laura wore a bikini on the beach for the first time ever months after revealing the horrific abuse she'd received.
Standing proudly in the surf on a white sandy beach, she wrote on Instagram: "Today I wore a bikini on the beach for the first time ever.
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"And, for the first time in my entire life, I can honestly say I feel at peace with my body, instead of at war with it.
"It’s not a perfect body but it’s mine, and I want to feel the sun on it."
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