Bake Off star made complaint to TV boss over 'disgusting' treatment

The comedian and presenter hosted the hugely popular baking programme alongside Mel Giedroyc during its original run on the BBC.

Their time on the programme included the years in which Dame Mary Berry, who went to a Bath private school near Wiltshire, appeared as a judge alongside Paul Hollywood.

Ms Perkins has now spoken about concerns she and Ms Giedroyc had behind the scenes over the way contestants were treated during filming.

Sue Perkins.

The pair have previously revealed they almost walked out on their first day working on the show because they were unhappy with the way it was being made.

They pushed for a kinder approach to the contestants and Ms Perkins has now discussed how concerns over the programme's production ultimately led to complaints being made.

Speaking on the How To Fail podcast, Ms Perkins said: "It was always like 'get the narrative', but get the most dramatic narrative and make people cry and that's what they tried to do. And then we just said, 'We've had enough of this.'

"And we walked out, and for some reason I found myself on the phone to the director general of the BBC, and I have no idea why. We were raising complaints about behaviours and all the rest of it."

Dame Mary Berry was a judge on the show.

The presenter said she believed it was important that contestants entering their working environment were treated properly.

She added: "It just seemed very important in that moment that when people were entering our office, our workspace, that we treated them with respect.

"You don't put a camera in their face and ask about their dead dad. How disgusting."

Ms Perkins and Ms Giedroyc became closely associated with the programme after presenting it from its launch in 2010.

Dame Mary was also part of the original judging line-up and remained with the programme throughout its time on the BBC.

The show grew substantially during that period, moving from BBC Two to BBC One and turning its presenters, judges and contestants into household names.

However, a major shake-up came in 2016 when it was announced that the programme would leave the BBC and move to Channel 4.

Ms Perkins and Ms Giedroyc subsequently announced they would not make the move with the programme.

Dame Mary also left the show rather than follow it to Channel 4, while Mr Hollywood remained as a judge.

Great British Bake Off has continued on Channel 4 with a number of different presenters since the move.