London - First there was The Great British Bake Off, with its soggy bottoms and perfectly shaped buns.
And now the BBC is hoping to replicate the show’s success with a competition for amateur gardeners – which will be filled with even more naughty innuendo than its predecessor.
The Big Allotment Challenge will see nine pairs of green-fingered contestants compete for the title of best grower, by producing vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Their efforts will be judged by the Queen’s former gardener Jim Buttress, along with jam expert Thane Prince and floral designer Jonathan Moseley.
Hosted by Fern Britton, the show was filmed over six months and follows the same format as the baking contest, with participants being set a different challenge each week. And like the Bake Off – in which judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood amused viewers with phrases such as “soggy bottom” and “it’s got a good wobble” – it will not be short of humour.
In the first episode, viewers will hear Mr Buttress, 69, discuss the merits of some “good, erect stems”, a comment which produces muffled laughter from his fellow judges.
Later in the show, Miss Prince advises a contestant on the correct pan to use for jam making, saying with a knowing look that it depends on “the thickness of your bottom”.
Speaking before the show’s launch, Mr Buttress, who was superintendent of the Royal Parks for 25 years, admitted he deliberately inserted amusing double entendres into the show to liven it up.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to enjoy it – it’s got to be fun,” he said. “I’ve always been a great believer in just twisting it a little bit, because nobody gets hurt. It takes it away from being boring.”
Executive producer Daisy Goodwin said the humour gets more risque as the series progresses, adding: “Melons week was excellent. People got the giggles.”
Asked if he was a prickly judge, Mr Buttress told Radio Times: “Someone said I was a cross between Ray Winstone and Paul Hollywood! I am just myself and I try to give lots of advice. I hope this is going to inspire people.”
The series was filmed last year in a walled garden at Mapledurham House in Oxfordshire. - Daily Mail