Great British Bake Off contestants avoid elimination during bread week

he Great British Bake Off contestants could breathe a sigh of relief on Tuesday after it was revealed that no bakers were to be eliminated from the show.

The third episode of the Channel 4 show saw eight contestants tasked with baking two signature pizzas, a pain aux raisin technical challenge and a decorative Swedish Smorgastarta showstopper.

Opening the show, co-host Matt Lucas told the contestants that fellow bakers Rebs, a master?s student from Northern Ireland, and electronics engineer Abdul were feeling ?under the weather? and would return to compete next week.

During their deliberations, judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith said the bottom three bakers were ?all so equal? that they had to look at their scores carefully when deciding who would leave the competition.

Dame Prue added that the showstopper challenge was ?one of the most difficult? she has ever judged.

When the time came to eliminate a contestant, presenter Lucas said: ?This week nobody is going home. The judges felt given the quality and the fact that Rebs and Abdul aren?t here, everybody deserved the chance to bake again.?

Dame Prue later confirmed that two amateur bakers will have to be eliminated during the same show at some point.

She said: ?They were all thrilled to bits because nobody had to go, they are all friends, they don?t want to see their friends go home.

?But sooner or later, we have to send two bakers home and that?s not nice.?