The Great Christmas Bake Off 2025: The glorious Peep Show cast reunion is the most exciting TV event of the season | TV and radio

peep Show is not actually a TV show. It’s more of an identity now, embedded in the collective British DNA. A decade after the show ended, many of us still call each other “clean shirt,” notice the logos in the foam or complain that the cracks are “weirder.” The single show more emblematic of the UK’s national psyche is The Great British Bake Off. So rejoice, because the best holiday collaboration is here! I call this the real reason for the season. Perhaps it is the real reason behind the praise.

They are such a big part of our lives, it’s hard to see these bakers as actors. It’s safe to say that this Christmas the Bake Off tent will be hosting a reunion of Mark, Sophie, Big Soes, Super Hans and Dobby. Together again, like a family, your family. It’s wonderful to see them – old, some bearded, none the less charming. None of the proceeds from this will go to charity because there aren’t any. And this happens only for joy.

David Mitchell has been on Bake Off before. This may not give him an advantage. As he points out: “I’ve made four cakes in my life, two of which have been broadcast on TV.” You’d expect Big Suze, also known as Sophie Winkleman, Claudia’s half-sister and member of the royal family, to have a certain level of competence. It could be her kindness that gives her a Meghan Markle-like poise. Matt King is the real surprise, having studied cooking and worked as a chef. He’s very different from the “terrible drug addict” Super Hans. So much so that watching it becomes, ironically, quite addictive.

Then there’s Olivia Colman, who plays Sophie, the mild-mannered office worker. In real life, Colman has won a Best Actress Oscar and has graced the most popular TV shows in recent years, from Fleabag and The Night Manager to The Bear. It’s to her credit that you can still imagine her chatting in line at the supermarket, or eating a Jimmy Dodger. She is in the pantheon of greats. This is similar to what happens in Daniel Day-Lewis’ “Would I Lie to You?” (He would be exceptional at that.) Needless to say, it would be funny if Coleman won this one too.

Unfortunately, Robert Webb is absent. Presumably it’s due to a scheduling conflict, although it’s fun to imagine his character Jeremy being opposed to making an appearance. “It’s keep calm and keep giving the masses opium, Mark!” etc.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith’s assignments are pure fan service. The latter challenges the contestants to make a turkey pie, declaring: “This is a tribute to the classic scene where Jeremy forgets the turkey.” It sounds like a Prime Minister declaring his undying love for Arsenal. In my heart, I don’t think Leith has watched a single second of Peep Show. Imagine if she asked them to cook the dog.

Another person who has never seen an episode before is King, and his signature bread is also unexpected. The Forgotten Birds of Christmas sees the comedian and actor baking thrushes, blue tits and sparrow cookies, “because Robins get all the attention.” He explains that he was a former member of the International Olympic Committee. (It refers to a club for young ornithologists, not young offenders I think). Meanwhile, Winkleman not only has Markle’s poise, but he also has baking skills. The more her baked goods deteriorated, the sweeter her style became. “Poor things,” she laments over her unsealed pies. It looks like an M&S ad for fallen sweets.

Presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond have the day off, while their clever guests, especially Mitchell, treat us to ginger as currants in fig pudding. Models are Easter eggs too. The cast bakes cakes to illustrate Peep Show’s deep cuts, including Dobby’s personal cowardice, Super Hans running into Windsor and Mark burying a drunken Sophie in the ball pit. Like the show, it’s hard to explain, but it’s perfect.

Don’t worry if you’re not a Peep Show diehard. There’s also a boys’ choir singing heavenly, and a stirring moment when Leith accuses Hollywood of handing out handshakes on an arbitrary basis. Cooking, with hidden stress! Choirs of angels! Disagreements between family members! Now that’s what I call Christmas!