Totally get your point! Mel and Sue’s supportive vibe on the show was heartwarming. It’s crutial for contestfans to feel encouraged
I had never heard of Alison Hammond but two shows in, feel she is a big improvement. She seems to be snark-free, and genuinely supportive of the contestants. A few clearly won’t last long but three or four are standing out. Paul appears to be mellowing with age, and Prue finds something encouraging to say about even poor results. Noel has grown on me in the years he’s cohosted. Still miss Sue and Mel, though!
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Yes. I could probably guess at the three finalists now. My bet for the winner is Tasha, who seems creative and skilled. It’s interesting how her deafness is being dealt with. Her speech is “normal” so I guess she may not always have been deaf (lifelong deaf people I’ve worked with have always had impaired speech). But the interesting bit is that she signs as well, while she’s talking. I wonder if she usually does that or if it’s part of the production so deaf viewers can better relate.
I haven’t yet warmed to Alison.
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It could be that she was born hearing, although people with cochlear implants are also sometimes likely to speak with a less detectable deaf accent, or more of a hearing person’s accent.
Also: I love her although Paul’s seeming surprise at the inclusion of tahini in sweets was puzzling (kind of, he seems fairly basic).
Thanks for that info, H.
I was actually surprised at Paul’s surprise. After all, he worked in Cyprus for a number of years where, as in other Eastern Med cuisines, tahini is used in both sweet and savoury dishes. He must have come across it regularly.
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I think probably in Cyprus inclusion in Western Euro style recipes is probably less common than in dishes deriving from the Turkish/middle eastern cuisines. Or maybe the surprise is a performance on his part for the benefit of viewers to highlight the ingredient?
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Does it matter when the implant happens?
Likely. A coworker’s wife got them at age 35, she was almost totally deaf from birth and had a very pronounced deaf accent when she spoke. A few years later her accent sounded less intense but by no means gone.
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Just googled and found this information about the baker.
Speaking in Mallorca ahead of the series launch on Monday, Tasha explained: 'I was born completely deaf . 'My parents found out when I was 12 months old, I got a cochlear implant when I was five, which was quite late on. 'I had hearing aids until I was five, but hearing aids did not benefit me whatsoever.
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