Camilla Swift Camilla Swift

Having an Aga doesn’t make you posh

‘I already hate Sam. He’s too chavvy.’

Can you imagine the outrage that would kick off if someone said that about a contestant on a reality TV programme? But that’s essentially what happened to Flora Shedden, a 19-year-old candidate on this year’s Great British Bake Off who was accused of being ‘too posh’ on social media.

So what triggered all of this? Simply forgetting to turn on her oven because ‘at home we’ve got an Aga, and I’m so used to having it on all the time.’ This one statement triggered a stream of abuse on social media, with many commenters hoping that she’d leave the competition first. For what crime? Being a bad cook? Having a soggy bottom? Nope; in fact, her Madeira cake turned out beautifully. Her crime was having the ‘wrong’ kind of oven.

First of all – there’s nothing wrong with an Aga.

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