Pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill has apologised after comments she made about coeliac disease onThe Great British Bake Off spinoff Extra Slice.
Last week, Gill appeared on the Channel 4 show alongside hosts Jo Brand and Tom Allen to discuss the Bread Week challenges happening in the Bake Off tent.
During her appearance, she said: “Well, I love bread but my mum’s coeliac so she shouldn’t eat bread, but she still loves it, she still eats it.”
Her remarks were criticised by the charity Coeliac UK which, in an open letter to the show’s producers, wrote that Gill’s comments “trivialise coeliac disease and send a harmful message to the public”.
In response, Gill said sorry on her Instagram Story, saying: “I want to make it really clear that my intention was not in any way to cause any misinformation about the severity of coeliac disease or to downplay it at all.
“For that, I hold my hands up and that was really never my intention.”
She added: “For those of you that don’t know me, I thought I’d provide a bit of context to my work and what I do.
“When I was in my twenties, I worked in London’s first gluten-free restaurant, long before platforms like YouTube and Instagram were as big, and I spent a lot of time educating myself.
“I also have spent the last year writing a lot more gluten-free recipes for the community… and that’s because I get asked about them a lot.
“I just want to circle back and let you know that I didn’t intend for those comments to cause harm, and the fact that they did really upset me, and I’m sorry about that.”
She added that her mum is not upset, and that “in a fast-moving panel show, sometimes it’s hard and you can’t get your words out, and I should have provided more context”. Gill said she will endeavour to “think more carefully” before she speaks on a TV show.
Brand and fellow guest Jonathan Ross had reacted with humour to Gill’s remark, with Brand saying of Gill’s mum: “Good for her.”
“And good for whoever cleans up after her,” Ross joked.
In their previous statement, Coeliac UK had also said: “Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune condition where the ingestion of gluten triggers an immune response that damages the gut lining, leading to nutrient malabsorption and a host of potential health complications.
“Even the smallest crumb of gluten can cause severe symptoms, including debilitating pain, prolonged suffering and even recurrent miscarriage, as long-term health risks such as osteoporosis and, in rare cases, small bowel cancer.”
The current series of Bake Off has been making many headlines over the past few weeks. One chaotic episode saw two contestants collapse and one baker dramatically quit. Judge Prue Leith also admitted she doesn’t watch the show.
