Laura Adlington, who was on The Great British Bake Off, has stated that she has given up her passion for baking because of trolls.
Laura, 33, participated on the programme in 2020 and made it all the way to the final before losing to the series’ youngest-ever winner, Peter Sawkins.
At the time, the digital manager from Kent was targeted online, with some harshly body-shaming her and accusing her of ‘promoting fat’.
Laura, a size 26 and passionate champion for body positivity, has now revealed that the trolls finally drove her to stop up baking.
Laura said she no longer bakes during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday to promote her new book Diet Starts Monday.
During their conversation, the presenter asked Laura if she was still baking after her triumph on the show.
‘The show completely changed my life, but not really,’ she responded.
‘I must admit I lost my love for it after Bake Off because I got trolled really badly and people were saying I was rubbish, and I shouldn’t have got through to the final.’
Supporting Laura, Lorraine added: ‘People are ghastly, and you know they would never say that to your face.’
However, hoping Laura would regain her love of it, Lorraine urged her to ‘ignore them and keep making cakes’.
Laura had stated in the interview that she had pondered bariatric surgery but ultimately concluded it was not for her.
Bariatric surgery refers to surgical techniques used to treat obesity and obesity-related disorders, most widely known as gastric banding.
‘I realised it wasn’t right for me because it wasn’t going to address the emotional reasons why I eat so I didn’t go ahead with it for that reason,’ she said.
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In a candid chat last year, Laura said she used to think of herself as a ‘walking before photo’.
‘I thought my life would start when I lost weight. I would long for Laura, version 2.0. I thought when skinny I would do things I never did, like date more, I’d have better sex, I’d wear better clothes, I’d socialise more, go clubbing, go on holidays,’ she shared.
Although she admitted to previously feeling ‘alone and isolated’, she eventually realised that ‘the way you look is the least interesting thing about you’.
She added: ‘I’m not going to waste my life worrying about what size knickers I wear.’
The Great British Bake Off is streaming on Channel 4. Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV1.
