Episode One - Scarlette & Stuart Douglas, and Chris & Rosie Ramsey

First up in this series are record-breaking podcasters and broadcasters Chris and Rosie Ramsey, as well as sibling TV presenters and property experts Scarlette and Stuart Douglas.

The bakers are challenged to tea-time classic scones in the Signature, before taking on a chocolately old-school favourite in the Technical. And for their ambitious Showstopper they attempt to recreate their career highlight in cake.

The Great Celebrity Bake for Stand Up To Cancer returns to Channel 4 on Sunday 16 March, 19:40, and on catch-up at Channel4.com.

Chris & Rosie Ramsey

Your episode is a bit different, isn’t it? You’re up against a brother-and-sister combo in Scarlette and Stuart Douglas. Are you baking as pairs, or individually?
Chris: We are all baking head-to-head! No teams. No helping out. No mercy!! 

Can you bake?
Rosie: I bake the odd cake with the kids every now and then. But I don’t think that exactly qualifies me as an expert.
Chris: I can’t bake at all. I’ve never made a cake in my life.

Describe your baking style in one word.
Rosie: Basic.
Chris: Non-existent. 

What’s your favourite baked good?
Chris: I love birthday cake! Sponge with jam and cream and icing on top. Absolutely perfect in my opinion.
Rosie: Apple crumble! 

Would you describe yourself as foodies?
Chris: Absolutely! We love going to nice places for delicious food, when we get the chance! 
Rosie: Yeah, we would pick a night in a restaurant over a night out in a bar any day of the week. 

Who does more of the cooking at home?
Chris: Rosie. Does almost all of it! She’s a much better cook than me. 

Do you cook together?
Rosie: Absolutely not. And I think people only do that on tv shows, films and adverts. We’d kill each other. 

How about your boys – do they get involved?
Rosie: Our eldest, Robin, likes to try his hand at stuff now and then. He actually got a little cooking set for Christmas. He’s pretty good at frying an egg actually! 

What’s your favourite dish that the other makes?
Chris: Rosie makes a pasta sauce with roasted veg all blitzed up. It’s incredible! 
Rosie: Chris makes a decent spag bol, although he hasn’t done it in ages. 

Have you ever had any culinary disasters?
Chris: Every single time I attempt to poach an egg. 

What are the strengths and weaknesses you’ll bring with you into the tent?
Chris: I’m pretty good at following instructions, as long as they are clear and detailed. I’ll have absolutely no chance on the technical challenge! 
Rosie: I’m a lot less panicky and flappy in the kitchen than Chris. So hopefully I’ll keep a cool head while he’s panicking about stuff. 

Rosie, is it fair to say you won’t be baking anything involving cheese?
Rosie: Definitely not!  I can’t even touch the stuff! 

Are you fans of Bake Off?
Chris: We absolutely love it and watch it with our son Robin. 
Rosie: He’s very excited that we are doing it. And a little nervous!

What’s it like, walking into the tent for the first time?
Rosie: Exciting, obviously, but also really lovely! It’s such a nice, warm atmosphere.    Chris: And it’s genuinely better kitted out than our own kitchen! 

What aspect of the show are you most nervous about?
Rosie: Standing and waiting for the verdict in silence as the judges taste our bakes. It’s nerve wracking enough on the tv! Can’t imagine how it’ll feel in real life. 

What’s the worst thing you could be asked to make in the technical?
Chris: Any kind of intricate, delicate, folded and flutter pastry type thing. Absolutely terrifying. 

Have you sought advice from anyone ahead of the show?
Chris: I’ve asked some other comedians I know, who have done the show, if the crew give you any help on the day, and apparently they don’t at all… so that’s scary! 

Is it an intimidating moment when you look up and see Caroline or Paul studying you?
Rosie: It’s genuinely panic-inducing and makes you momentarily forget what you’re doing.
Chris: Yeah, instead you end up studying their faces trying to work out if they are disgusted with you or not. 

Are you competitive? How badly do you want to win?
Chris: We both claim to not be… but when Noel and Allison tell us to start baking, it’ll be on! 

How competitive will you be against each other? Will you help each other out, or try and undermine each other?
Chris: I think we will be competitive for a laugh but when the other needs help, we will help. 
Rosie: Plus Chris is going to need to taste test any of my butter-icing-based things, as I hate the stuff. 

How long will the bragging rights go on for after the show?
Chris: If one of us wins, we will mention it daily to the other for possibly a decade or two. 

What would it mean to you to get a Hollywood handshake?
Rosie: That’s the absolute dream isn’t it. Better than the apron to be fair. 

Why are you doing this? Why is SU2C important to you?
Chris: Cancer is a brutal thing that ravages and devastates millions of families so absolutely anything we can do to help raise money to advance treatment and battle cancer, we will do. 
Rosie: It’s such a brilliant cause, as well as being a brilliant experience. It’s an honour to be a part of Bake Off for SU2C.

Scarelette & Stuart Douglas

Your episode is a bit different, isn’t it? You’re up against Chris and Rosie Ramsey. Are you baking as pairs, or individually?
Scarlette: Individually. 

Can you guys bake?
Scarlette: No. I wish I could! Stuart’s wife can bake though, she’s a really good baker.
Stuart: I can’t bake. If I was to go to a restaurant, and you asked me if I’d prefer to have a starter or dessert, I would always choose a starter. So I don’t bake – but I’m giving it a right go.
Scarlette: And I would always go for the dessert, because I do love cake. I just don’t bake.

Describe your baking style in one word.
Scarlette: The first word that comes to mind is ‘haphazard’. Because there’s mess everywhere. 
Stuart: Mine’s reckless.

What’s your favourite baked good to eat?
Scarlette: My favourite is a banoffee pie. 
Stuart: And I love a sticky toffee pudding. 

Do you cook much in everyday life?
Stuart: Between my wife and I, we cook a lot. I really enjoy cooking. We cook most days. For me, cooking is quite therapeutic. I like to put some music on, get a glass of wine, and just wind down from the day while I cook. I really enjoy cooking.
Scarlette: Whereas I enjoy eating more than I enjoy cooking. I can cook. Our parents are Jamaican, and my mum has definitely taught us a lot of her old school Jamaican recipes. But she lives round the corner from me and she loves to cook, so I just go round there for dinner, if I’m honest. So I’m definitely eating more than I’m cooking. 

Did you grow up in a foodie household?
Scarlette: Absolutely. It was great. Especially on a Sunday, when you’d have all the family round, and mum pulled out all the stops. It was definitely a foodie house.
Stuart: We’re into seasoning. The food has to be seasoned. There has to be flavour. 
Scarlette: And also our grandmothers were both very, very good bakers. I remember my dad’s mum, whenever we’d go and see her, she used to live in Peterborough, she always had a carrot cake or a rum cake or a sponge cake, some sort of cake, and it was always so good. I kind of wish I’d taken on board some of my grandma’s tips, to be honest.

Stuart, as a former professional footballer, did you have to watch your diet really carefully in the past?
Stuart: No, because when you’re playing and you’re training every day, you burn a lot of calories. When you’re a professional footballer you’re very privileged, in that there are often professional chefs at training grounds, who make sure you have the exact intake of the food that’s required. So you’re very well looked-after, and you’re constantly training. It's more a case of when you’re injured you watch what you eat, because you can’t burn it off. Or when you retire. Then you have to change your diet.

And Scarlette, your background in football and dance, were you careful with your diet?
Scarlette: Never. Especially when I did musicals. We’d do eight shows a week, and they were three hours long, you’re constantly dancing and burning calories. When I did Hairspray, in between a matinee and an evening show, I’d go to Domino’s pizza and get an individual pizza for myself and a side of wedges or garlic bread. So I used to eat whatever I wanted. Now that I have stopped dancing and I’m getting older, I’ve realised that I really can’t do that anymore. 

Do you cook for each other much?
Scarlette: Not really. I’ve maybe cooked for Stuart a couple of times. And if I go round to Stuart’s house and he’s done the cooking, I’ll eat it, but not specifically.

Do either of you have a signature dish?
Stuart: My kids love it when I make seasoned mince and rice, with different herbs and spices. They love that. I like to make stewed chicken or curried chicken. All of my dishes generally have rice with them. 
Scarlette: My signature dish is spaghetti Bolognese. I can make a very good one. And mum’s taught us jerk chicken, curried goat, ackee and saltfish. But my go-to is definitely spaghetti Bolognese.

Have you ever had any culinary disasters?
Scarlette: Oh, pancakes. Pancake day for me is terrible. I can never get the batter right. I want to make a crepe, and it always comes out like a fat pancake, and it breaks up and is really bad. 
Stuart: I tend to play it safe, I stay in my lane, I make what I know I’m good at, and if I’ve not made it before, I’ll buy it in. 

That doesn’t serve you very well on a show like this, does it?
Stuart: Exactly! The trepidation is killing me. But I’m happy to be out of my comfort zone for such a great cause. 

What are the strengths and weaknesses you’ll both bring with you into the tent?
Scarlette: I like to think that I’m quite calm under pressure. And I’m very good with time management. Stuart is not at all. He’s likely to run out of time, whereas I like to think I’ll give myself enough time at the end to sort out any issues that may pop up. 
Stuart: I’m very laid back, which can be both a positive and a negative. You do your best, and hopefully it’s enough. 

You both work in the property world - will that be reflected in your bakes at all?
Scarlette: You’ll have to wait and see. There might be a little something up our sleeves. 

Are you fans of Bake Off?
Scarlette: I love Bake Off, absolutely love it. I’ve always said to Stuart “Oh, it would be so good if we get to do this.” And here we are. And when it comes to the Stand Up to Cancer version, it’s such a great show, but we know that we’re doing it for a great cause as well. So it’s win-win. 
Stuart: I don’t normally get a chance to watch television in my house, because either my children or my wife are watching their favourite shows. But fortunately for me, my wife’s favourite show is Bake Off, so I’ve seen it on numerous occasions, and I feel privileged to be part of it. 

So she must be very excited that you’re on the show.
Stuart: You would like to think so. However, when I found out that I was going to take part in this, my life changed into a military operation. My wife wanted me to learn all the basic skills of baking. She was very helpful, but I go into this under a lot of pressure now.

So she’s been your kitchen drill sergeant?
Stuart: Most definitely. And one of the scariest drill sergeants imaginable. 

What’s it like, walking into that iconic tent for the first time?
Scarlette: It’s like a pinch-me moment for me. When you see the tent, you feel like “This is it, it’s actually happening.” And then the pressure’s on. It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Stuart: I’ve been fortunate enough, in the last few years, to go on set when Scarlette was in I’m a Celebrity… That’s an institution. And now, to go into the tent, another institution, to be here, to be able to say that I’ve been part of both of those shows, I feel truly blessed. 

What aspect of the show are you most nervous about?
Scarlette: It’s got to be the technical for me. You’ve got no idea what’s coming. Not being the best baker, I’m a bit nervous about that one. 
Stuart: I couldn’t agree more. It’s like going into a driving test having never driven a car. 

What’s the worst thing you could be asked to make in the technical?
Scarlette: Any sort of pastry. Pastries are hard.
Stuart: Anything. 

Have you sought advice from anyone ahead of the show? Apart from your wife, Stuart!
Scarlette: No. One of my friends is a professional baker, she’s got her own cake shop and she is amazing. She does extreme cakes. I really wanted to get her help, but I’ve been over in Los Angeles, I literally got back just in time to start filming, so I never managed to catch her. 

So not only are you undertaking Bake Off, but you’ve got jetlag as well?
Scarlette: Exactly. It’s currently 6:05am in Los Angeles, and we’ve been filming for several hours. So I’m trying to stay awake as much as possible.
Stuart: Put it this way: Scarlette can’t remember her name right now. She’s trying to bake stuff she can’t even pronounce in her current state. 

Is it an intimidating moment when you look up and see Caroline or Paul studying you?
Scarlette: The most nerve-wracking part is when Paul comes over and tastes one of your bakes, and he’s just silent for, like, five minutes, and you have no idea what’s going through his head. That silence from him is deafening, it’s horrendous. 
Stuart: Yeah, we’re all human. So even if it’s not the normal competition, and there’s not as much at stake, when they walk over to you, you do get nervous. It’s really strange. You want them to like and enjoy what you’ve made.

Are you competitive? How badly do you want to win?
Scarlette: Yes, we’re very competitive, and I really want to win, more than anything. When Stuart and I did Love It Or List It for Black To Front on Channel 4, he won that episode, and I feel like I need a comeback. It’s 1-0 at the moment, I need to come back and draw 1-1. 
Stuart: Put it this way: There are four of us in this tent. If I come third, and my sister comes fourth, for me that’s a win. 

So, in the heat of competition, will you help each other out, or try and undermine each other?
Stuart: I’ve got one word for you…
Both: Sabotage!

How long will the bragging rights go on for after the show?
Scarlette: Seeing as Love It Or List It was nearly three years ago, Stuart still goes on about that to this day. If I win this, it’ll be going on for a very long time. If he wins it, it’ll probably be going on forever.
Stuart: I’m glad you said that, because I was going to say “Forever”. 

What would it mean to you to get a Hollywood handshake?
Scarlette: I’m hoping I get one and Stuart doesn’t. 
Stuart: I’ve watched Bake Off many times, and I’ve never understood the big deal about the Hollywood handshake. Why do people want to shake this man’s hand. And the minute I saw him, I wanted to get a handshake. 

Why are you doing this? Why is SU2C important to you?
Stuart: We’ve been affected by a lot of really close family and friends who have had cancer. We’ve lost loved ones recently. It seems that, as we get older, it’s becoming a lot more prevalent. When your young, you hear of it, but you don’t really know those affected by it. Now we do. I think it’s really important that we all come together and try to help in whatever way we can.
Scarlette: And one-in-two people will get cancer at some point in their life. That is either me or Stuart. So it’s important to create an awareness about it, to get people to donate. Yes, we are having fun, we are baking and enjoying ourselves, but it is for a bigger cause. To be able to do our part is really important to us. 

Stand Up To Cancer is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 that brings the UK together to speed up progress in life-saving cancer research.