The last time I baked I was at school, admits Celebrity Bake Off’s Stacey

Great Celebrity Bake Off contestant Stacey Dooley has admitted the last time she baked was at school.

The documentary maker and TV host, 33, described herself as “massively inexperienced” and said she expected to be the weakest contestant on the charity show for Stand Up To Cancer.

Actor James McAvoy, actress Daisy Ridley, double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, actor and comedian John Bishop, author and TV star David Baddiel and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall all feature on this series of the Channel 4 spin-off.

Dooley said she she didn’t mind potentially embarrassing herself on television as it was for charity.

She said: “I’m particularly bad. I definitely think I’ll be the weakest on the show, but you know what, we’re here to raise money so we just need to make as much money as possible and raise awareness, and it’s all for charity so you sort of don’t mind making an arse of yourself because it’s for a good cause.”

Asked about her strengths and weaknesses, she replied: “I don’t know if I have any strengths when it comes to baking. My weakness is that I’m massively inexperienced.

“I don’t bake at all. The last time I thought about baking was probably at school.”

Dooley said that she reckoned she was the only person who had not used lockdown to embrace home baking.

“And that’s the ridiculous thing. The whole country’s been bloody baking,” she said.

“That’s all we’ve been doing, I’m the only person in the UK who hasn’t been baking religiously since March.”

She added: “I think people reckon I’m exaggerating. I honestly have never baked as an adult. It should make for an interesting couple of days.”

Dooley, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 alongside now-boyfriend Kevin Clifton, said she had failed to do any preparation ahead of filming.

In answer to the question, she said: “No, which was very foolish because I’m getting the impression the people I’ll be in the tent with may have been practising – certainly a couple of them.

“It’s not the first time they’ve done it, but for me I’m coming at it totally fresh. But actually, I wonder if that’ll make me better.

“I’ll be so reliant on the recipe. It’s all about precision isn’t it, so maybe it’ll help that I’ll stick so firmly to the recipe. And I won’t be complacent because I know I’ll have to pull it out of the bag.”

Each of the five episodes will see four celebrities battle it out over three rounds – the signature, the technical and the showstopper – in a bid to be crowned star baker.

Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will be judging the bakes while host Matt Lucas will also return to the tent “keeping time and spirits up”.

Noel Fielding is on paternity leave after welcoming his second child, a daughter named Iggy, with his partner Lliana Bird.

They already share a son, Dali, born in 2018.

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer airs on Tuesday, March 9, at 8pm on Channel 4.