Bake Off: Regulator assesses viewers' complaints after fridge stunt
The show's presenter Noel Fielding emerged from inside a fridge and viewers are complaining the stunt sends the wrong message.
Thursday 14 September 2017 22:10, UK
Media regulator Ofcom has told Sky News it is assessing complaints against The Great British Bake Off after presenter Noel Fielding was filmed hiding in a fridge.
Ofcom said it had received at least 28 complaints regarding Tuesday night's episode amid criticism from some viewers - concerned about safety - that the stunt sent out the wrong message.
Channel 4 tweeted the scene showing fellow presenter Sandi Toksvig opening the fridge to find Fielding inside.
The caption read: "Just when you thought Noel Fielding couldn't get any cooler...".
But a viewer wrote on Twitter: "How stupid can you be?"
"You should never shut people in a fridge even for comic effect! Children are watching this!"
Another wrote: "My daughter loves to watch Bake Off.
"I've just had to explain why she should never climb in a fridge. Can't believe it got aired!"
A third said: "Epic fail by Noel, don't hide in a fridge; one of the first lessons of safety I learned as a child."
Ofcom said it was looking into the complaints before deciding if it would launch a formal investigation into whether the TV show breached broadcasting rules.
In a statement, the regulator told Sky News: "We are assessing all complaints against the broadcasting code, before deciding whether or not to investigate."
The number of complaints was believed to be four times higher than when two Celebrity Big Brother contestants were shown sharing an intimate moment earlier this year.
Ofcom dropped an investigation in 2014 after the Bake Off's famous "Bingate" incident which saw an ice cream being sabotaged and thrown in the rubbish.
That incident drew more than 800 complaints from viewers.