GBBO: Paralympic athlete among those criticising Paul Hollywood’s ‘unacceptable’ small hand joke

The skit has since prompted a small number of complaints to Ofcom

Paralympic athlete Carly Tait has criticised a joke made by Paul Hollwood on a recent episode on the hit Channel 4 cookery show The Great British Bake Off. 

The celebrity chef had used a small plastic hand to riff with co-presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas on the so-called “Hollywood handshake” he offers to successful contestants.

Tait, a wheelchair racer who represented Great Britain in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, voiced her objection to Hollywood’s joke on Twitter.

“Oi @Channel4 do you need a #disabled expert or D&I consultant in your organisation as I would love to explain to you why the use of small hand as a comedy prop in #GBBO by @PaulHollywood IS NOT ACCEPTABLE,” she wrote.

Others on social media also took issue with the joke when the episode aired, with one person describing it as “wrong, uncomfortable and unnecessary”.

Now, it has been reported by The Sun that broadcast watchdog Ofcom had received a small number of complaints about the incident.

Hollywood was also recently mocked by some Bake Off viewers for incorrectly claiming that the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag colours “represented the NHS”.

According to The Sun, Ofcom has received around 70 complaints from viewers concerning both incidents.