Carole Turner appeared on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice’s first episode of its 16th season, with hosts Jo Brand and Tom Allen, as well as a special appearance from Jonathan Ross.
The 55-year-old said she was invited to go on the reality show over email, receiving a message asking if she ‘would be interested in bringing a bake’ to be judged.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, dream come true!'” described Carole, who can’t appear on the regular series of the show due to her professional experience as a baker.
She owns a vintage caravan called Dolly, which she serves afternoon tea from as part of her business ‘Bob-I-Tea Boo’, a play on the song from the iconic 1950 Disney film, Cinderella, as well as working in a farm shop part-time.
“I did a telephone audition, there were lots of emails and lots of calls, and then they told me on Tuesday evening that it was a yes, and my idea was good.
“I had like three days to get it all together, bake it and get to London,” she continued.
Carole explained that as part of the process, she had to ‘very quickly’ decide what she was wearing and sent pictures of her outfit to the team working on the show.
She added: “It was absolutely brilliant, we had to go to the studios for quarter past one and then went off and had lunch, then there were six hours of filming.
“What you don’t see on the show is when they finished chatting to us they said hold on, the oanel wants to try Carole’s cakes.
“Jonathan Ross was sitting there eating my cake! They came over to our table, trying our cakes and telling us how much they loved them.”
The mother-of-two won Star Baker on the show, being gifted an inscribed wooden spoon, thanks to her range of tea and coffee cakes baked and served inside vintage ceramic cups and saucers.
The business owner has even been given a nickname by work colleagues and family for appearing on the show, Mariah, after singer Mariah Carey.
Comedian and co-host Tom Allen approached Carole, asking her if her name was because she was born on Christmas, a question to which she replied no.
He followed up asking what Carole’s favourite Christmas carol was, which she did not expect him to ask. She added: “My mind went blank and I said Mariah [Carey’s song All I Want For Christmas Is You].”
“I was so gobsmacked that this all happened.”
Carole plans to serve a themed afternoon tea with flavours of cake that won her the episode.
As for where she will display her prized wooden spoon, she will be putting it in her caravan to ‘be a talking point for people’.