Bake Off was back with another slice of its bonus springtime series and four celebrities braving the fabled tent for charity. Here’s what happened in the second of five fundraising specials…

Macho James McAvoy muscled his way to victory

Is Hollywood actor James McAvoy in the throes of a midlife crisis? He’s been hitting the gym so hard that with his buzzcut and tight T-shirt, the 41-year-old rather resembled Peter Andre. Which probably wasn’t the look he was going for. 

Still, the pumped-up X-Men star proved a good sport, poking fun at his own luvvie-ness in an opening skit which saw him express a desire to “really get inside Paul Hollywood”. Now there’s an image. McAvoy also did an amusing impression of the judge’s trademark thumbs-in-pockets pose and called him a “baking Gandalf”.

When he got down to baking business, McAvoy had clearly practised hard. His signature lemon and raspberry meringue pie (“My peaks are stiff. They’ve stood up to cancer”) was “close to perfection”. He also won the technical challenge with “pretty well a perfect scone”. 

We just wished he’d calm down on the testosterone-fuelled posturing: stabbing a knife into the worktop, crossly throwing utensils around and generally being an alpha male attention-seeker. When the Glaswegian thesp wasn’t trying so hard, he was rather lovely – donating his leftover pastry to David Baddiel and doling out tots of rum to his fellow bakers. 

McAvoy clinched the Star Baker accolade with a showstopper which rendered his spirit animal in 3D marble cake form. McAvoy played Lord Asriel in the BBC’s dramatisation of His Dark Materials, so opted for the character’s snow leopard dæmon – renamed Brendan, after his 10-year-old son with ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff (not to be confused with fellow baker Anne-Marie, which could have been awkward). 

David Baddiel was endearingly useless

“I might be the worst contestant you’ve ever had,” said whiskery comedian David Baddiel as the episode began. He wasn’t quite that bad but Baddiel was the weakest among this quartet. 

Baddiel seemed to be permanently battling against his implements and ingredients. Pastry got stuck to his chopping board and his hands. He seemed scared of the oven and couldn’t fit anything in the freezer. He was defeated by cling film, wrestled haplessly with fondant and his piping bag leaked everywhere. Frankly, it was a minor miracle he produced any bakes at all. 

His skills might have been lacking but his ideas were imaginative. His “Revenge for My Mother’s Disappointing Desserts” incorporated a retro tin of mandarin segments. Attempting to make cheese scones, Baddiel instead “invented cheese flatbreads”. 

For his showstopper, Baddiel sculpted a cake effigy of Chairman Meow – he and fellow comedian Frank Skinner’s much-missed pet cat – complete with Mikado whiskers, Toblerone ears and even a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. “I thought the Communist Chinese element was perfect for Bake Off,” deadpanned Baddiel. Top Marx for creativity.

Kelly Holmes was cruelly denied a Hollywood handshake

Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes followed a disciplined diet during her middle-distance running career but permanently dreamt of chocolate. One of her coaches, she confessed, used to dangle an imaginary bar out for her after the third lap of a 1500m race, so sweet-toothed Holmes would kick for the finish, thinking: “Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!"

All fabulous hair and gleeful grin, the 50-year-old former athlete made for an infectiously enthusiastic contestant. This was a cause close to her heart, since her mother Pam died from blood cancer in 2017.

Her Eton Mess-inspired signature tart had the judges in raptures about how it looked exquisite and tasted delicious. “That pastry’s the best I’ve had for a while,” said Hollywood. So why didn’t he extend his famous mitt for a handshake? When Holmes suggested it might be due to social distancing, Matt Lucas put her right: “It was because you hadn’t paid Paul in advance.”

Anne-Marie’s monkey cake went bananas

“Bake your bum off.” This was the sage advice to viewers from pink-haired pop star Anne-Marie. The 29-year-old Essex songstress, her fingers covered in blue plasters, proved a lovely presence in the tent but the details kept letting her down. 

Her signature banoffee tart was flavoursome but with over-thick pastry. Her technical scones had great texture but were just beaten by McAvoy’s. Her Steve the Monkey showstopper looked superb, like a novelty children’s birthday cake, but was overbaked and chewy. Prue Leith said the chocolatey chimp was “charming to look at but not a pleasure to eat”. 

“If they hadn’t tasted it, I might’ve won,” Anne-Marie sighed wistfully. How different Bake Off history would be if that were the case. 

Appeal film was a heartbreaker

Amid all the confectionery and comedy came a reminder of this show’s raison d’être. “Sal’s Story” told how mother-of-two Sal Cheema bravely fought and survived breast cancer in 2013 – only to be diagnosed with rare bile duct cancer five years later.

Her husband, Gurveer, and sons, Suraj and Amar, recalled how Sal died in a hospice last September at the age of 43. “She was the foundation of our life and had immense strength,” said 15-year-old Suraj. “Now we must have that strength as well.” Sobering stuff and surely reason enough to donate to Stand Up To Cancer.

Dizzee versus Grimmy next week

It’s another ragtag bunch of apron-donners next Tuesday, with MC Dizzee Rascal, DJ Nick Grimshaw, psychiatrist Philippa Perry and comedian Reece Shearsmith braving the marquee. Spoiler: “biscuit selfies” are involved. See you back here to sift through the crumb-covered chaos.