Great British Bake Off star Laura Adlington has revealed she’s lost her passion for baking after becoming the victim of relentless online trolling.
The 33-year-old appeared on the 2020 season of the much-loved baking show, making it all the way to the final.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Bake Off star Laura Adlington talks about body positivity.
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She lost out to the series’ youngest-ever winner, Peter Sawkins, but by then she had gained a strong following on social media.
However, with the followers came the trolls who picked on her cooking and her weight, with some going so far as to say she “promoted obesity”.
Appearing on the UK talk show Lorraine, Adlington spoke up about the toll the online abuse had taken on her.
When host Lorraine Kelly asked if she was still baking, Adlington gave a devastating answer.
“The show completely changed my life, but not really,” she admitted.
“I must admit I lost my love for it after Bake Off because I got trolled really badly and people were saying I was rubbish, and I shouldn’t have got through to the final.”
Kelly described the trolls as “ghastly”, telling Adlington she should return to baking.
“Ignore them and keep making cakes,” she said.
In the same interview, Adlington said she had once thought about having bariatric (gastric band) surgery, but decided against it.
“I realised it wasn’t right for me because it wasn’t going to address the emotional reasons why I eat, so I didn’t go ahead with it for that reason,” she said.
In an interview with Metro UK in 2023, Adlington said she used to think of herself as a “walking ‘before’ photo”.
“I thought my life would start when I lost weight,” she said.
“I would long for Laura, version 2.0.
“I thought when skinny, I would do things I never did, like date more, I’d have better sex, I’d wear better clothes, I’d socialise more, go clubbing, go on holidays.”
She said she gradually learned that “the way you look is the least interesting thing about you”.
“I’m not going to waste my life worrying about what size knickers I wear,” she added.
Now, Adlington is an advocate for body positivity.
She’s recently written a book called Diet Starts Monday, billed as a “no-BS guide to body acceptance in a looks-obsessed world”.
“Don’t live a small life just because you are bigger,” she told Kelly about the impetus behind the book.
“I’ve spent my whole life on this hamster wheel of hating myself and dieting, and it has got me nowhere, so maybe I should just kind of look at an alternative approach,” she added.
“And what if I just accepted myself instead?
“We’re kind of told I think as women, that we need to look a certain way to be accepted, loved and respected, and I just think that’s rubbish really.
“What I’m trying to say is, please focus on your health and not on the scales.
“Go grab life!”
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