The Great British Bake Off scandal: BBC employees accused of betting on the winner before final airs

According to reports 529 bets have been made by 42 suspicious accounts

(BBC)

We’re nearing the final of The Great British Bake Off and tensions are high - who will win: Tamal Nadiya or Ian?

As you may know, the show is filmed far in advance, so certain members of the BBC already know who will come up top. According to a report in The Sun, some people “in the know” have been placing large bets on one of the contestants, leading to allegations of a ‘scandal’ at the BBC.

It is claimed that 529 bets have been made by 42 suspicious accounts recently opened with Ladbrokes. They are allegedly linked vicariously to dozens of BBC employees.

Great British Bake Off - 2014 scandal

The source said: “Whoever's doing this thinks they're being very clever. But they aren't that smart as they've been using their own names to open accounts. Pretty much all the accounts punted on one baker. They clearly know something we don’t.”

The finalists: Tamal Ray, Nadiya Jamir Hussain and Ian Cumming (BBC)

Ladbrokes will reportedly have to pay out £10,000 if the contestant goes on to win.

The ‘scandal’ story was also picked up by The Mirror, with their source saying: “Even when we made the price very short so they wouldn’t win much they continued to try to put more money on and at this stage there were more contestants left in the competition than there are now, but it was clear they seemed to know the winner and it looks like it was a case of insider trading.”

The BBC have since denied any involvement whatsoever. A spokesperson said: “We have no knowledge of these claims and have asked The Sun to provide us with details to be able to look into it. We are still waiting.”

The final will see Nadiya Jamir Hussain, Tamal Ray and Ian Cumming battling it out in the kitchen. They’ll be trying to impress judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with their show-stopping cakes as part of cake week.

Last week’s semi-final saw 10.2 million viewers watch 19-year-old Flora Shedden sent home, with the final expected to be the biggest episode in the hit BBC show’s history