Ahead of her ‘bake off’ debut adele roberts on how the show inspired her during cancer treatment

W hen Adele Roberts was approached to take part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C, she didn’t hesitate for a second. “If it was the normal show, I would have said: ‘No way,’ as I’m not good in the kitchen. But as it was for such an amazing cause, it was ‘yes’ in a heartbeat. I know how much good the show is going to do,” she says.

BBC Radio 1 DJ and former Big Brother star Adele knows first hand the incredible work that charities such as Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) carry out. She is in remission, having been diagnosed with bowel cancer in late 2021 before undergoing chemotherapy and an operation, and being fitted with a stoma bag.

Says Adele: “I’ve been on the receiving end, luckily and thankfully, of the money that the show generates – cancer research helped save my life. I wanted to say thank you and give something back.”

Although she can’t give away whether she ended up with a coveted handshake from judge Paul Hollywood or a burnt shambles of a cake, the DJ does admit that she isn’t talented in the kitchen.

“I am not a baker, I am a trier,” she says, laughing. “But before I went on the show, I was put through baking bootcamp by my girlfriend Kate’s mum. She taught me little things, like what baking powder does and why flour is important!”

As a result, Adele said she did better on the Channel 4 show than she expected. “I remembered to take my time and put all my ingredients in. I’m quite proud of how I did, to be honest. I really did try my hardest,” she says.

The atmosphere in the Bake Off tent is famously warm and supportive. And the celebrity version was the same, as Adele bonded with her fellow contestants: Olympic diver Tom Daley and actors David Morrissey and Lucy Beaumont.

“We were allowed to get advice from each other,” the 44-year-old recalls. “So I kept turning around to ask Tom questions because he knew everything. David was lovely and Lucy was hilarious. We didn’t stop laughing. Nobody minded who won because we were all rooting for each other.”

FOCUS ON FUN

And taking part in the show provided a welcome distraction for Adele, who was undergoing chemotherapy during filming. “It gave me something to look forward to,” she says. “When you’re going through treatment, you need things to keep you focused, otherwise you can go to a very dark place.

“Even practising kept me motivated and