Great British Bake Off: Contestant Ian Cumming infected with rare parasites during trip to Belize

The baker said he could see botfly larvae 'wriggling around' under his skin after visiting the country over 20 years ago

Ian Cumming (Getty)

Great British Bake Off viewers will probably remember Ian Cumming from last year's series, the runner-up behind baking champion Nadiya Hussain.

Before GBBO, Cumming was a travel photographer and the official photographer for the Dalai Lama when he visited the UK.

But while the job may sound glamorous, he has described a rather gruesome moment from his photography days which contrasts vastly with the idyllic, pleasant setting of the bunting-laden, pastel-coloured bake-off tent in the grassy settings of the home counties.

Cumming was bitten by mosquitos multiple times while working in Belize over 20 years ago. He told the Mirror his bites soon became infected with a particularly rare parasite and the baker could see them moving underneath his skin.

Some of the mosquitos which bit him were infected with botfly, a parasite native to parts of central and south America. If a mosquito is infected by a botfly, its eggs can land on the skin when the mosquito does. When the egg hatches to larvae it can burrow in the human skin and live there.

Cumming said he could see numerous larvae “wriggling around under [his] skin”. After managing to squeeze some of them out in Beliz, on his return to the UK he had to seek treatment in hospital to have the rest cut out.

"I tried putting an antibiotic ointment on to the five or so infected bites on my left leg, but it didn’t make much difference. It was supposed to block the air holes of the larvae, which I could see wriggling around under the skin. It was a very weird feeling."

“I know we often have parasites living on us but it was nothing compared to seeing something moving under my own skin."

Since his time on the show, Cumming has continued both his baking and photography. He has worked with food brands developing recipes and travelled to Iceland for a shoot and, as of yet, has no horror stories to tell.