Jeremy Paxman has crashed out of the Great Celebrity Bake Off, saying he would rather interview “some clown like Vladimir Putin” than make a cake.
The fearsome former Newsnight presenter and host of University Challenge admitted he was an “alien” in the kitchen.
Paxman also revealed his choice of underwear did not extend to thongs as he chatted in the famous Bake Off tent.
The journalist was joined by Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, comedian Joe Wilkinson and former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay for the Stand Up To Cancer special.
Paxman revealed he was too nervous to stay in bed on the day of the Bake Off and said: “I am a bit of an alien to baking. In fact I’m an alien in the kitchen.
“I would much rather go and do an interview some clown like Vladimir Putin.”
He added: “Baking is not for wimps.”
The presenter first attempted to make biscuits, in the shape of his dog Derek, but his piping left the treats below Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith’s standards.
Paxman said: “I think Derek would be disappointed. If he were clever enough to think about these things, I think he might feel he had not been done justice.”
He then tried his hand at chocolate crumpets, which he had never heard of, and presented the judges with an accidentally salty snack.
Chatting to Wilkinson as the comedian crafted a Rear of the Year cake, Paxman said he had never ventured to wear a thong.
Now this was terrifying and hilarious at the same time https://t.co/GP39MjCPbC
— Sally Lindsay (@sally_lindsay) March 26, 2019
He said: “I’ve been through the whole gamut but I’ve never tried a thong. Not even on holiday.”
Paxman’s showstopper was a tribute to Leith, featuring the judge fishing on lemon drizzle cake.
Toffolo produced a nightclub-themed described as a “horror scene” by Hollywood, while Lindsay made a cake celebrating the suffragettes.
It was Wilkinson who wowed the judges with his tattooed buttocks in icing form.
He was named star baker for his winning efforts in each round and awarded the Bake Off apron.
Wilkinson said: “There is no bigger up than winning an apron.”