Celebrity Bake Off's Alison Hammond pauses show as Gloria Hunniford makes sudden exit

During the latest Celebrity Great British Bake Off episode, host brought the show to a brief halt with an unexpected announcement regarding contestant Gloria Hunniford.

In the Stand Up to Cancer special which aired on Sunday (13th April), Alison, alongside co-host and judges Caroline Waldegrave and Paul Hollywood, greeted a group of celebrities ready to showcase their baking prowess.

The tent welcomed Jim Howick, aged 45, Gloria Hunniford, aged 85, Ellie Goldstein, aged 23, and Jamali Maddix, aged 33. Their challenge for the showstopper round was to create a cake that represented a personal 'best kept secret'.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Gloria decided to pay homage to her late father, a member of the magic circle, by crafting a 'magician cake'. Her creation was an egg-free four-layer chocolate delight, oozing with golden syrup and vanilla filling.

But just as the final cakes were about to be judged, Alison informed everyone that Gloria had to bow out of the remainder of the episode due to feeling unwell, reports .

Addressing the remaining bakers and the audience at home, Alison shared: "Now before we start the judging we should mention the fact that Gloria is not here. She is not feeling very well but she wanted us to carry on anyway."

Noel Fielding, aged 51, stepped in to represent Gloria's bake, receiving the judges' critiques in her stead. Paul commented: "I like the concept. The concept is being executed really well."

Caroline also remarked: "It's a nice tribute to her father." The conversation took a poignant turn when Alison mentioned: "Such a shame Gloria wasn't feeling very well and wasn't able to tell the story."

Gloria had previously spoken about her motivations for participating in Celebrity Bake Off, revealing it brought her immense joy to raise funds to combat cancer. The TV personality has been keeping the memory of her daughter Caron alive, who tragically lost her battle to breast cancer in 2004 at just 41 years old.

When questioned about her reasons for joining the baking competition despite her limited culinary skills, Gloria shared: "Unfortunately, I lost my daughter to cancer. To lose a child is the worst thing that can happen to you."

She eloquently expressed the profound impact of losing a child, saying: "Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any woman because you can't carry a baby for nine months, give birth to that baby, love that baby for whatever length of time without it having the deepest, deepest impact. It's so tragic when you lose that child."

For Gloria, contributing to the cause has been a therapeutic experience: "So giving something back has a wonderful mending process because you are giving back in the name of the person you loved, who you do love, and have lost. It's very prevalent in my mind, and in my actions all the time. When you do something positive against something so deeply negative, it's very healing."

Gloria remembered her beloved daughter with fondness, saying: "She was a very special girl, with a great sense of humour. She was the woman in this that I loved talking to the most."

The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Stand Up to Cancer is available on Channel 4.