"Am I cursing the bakers?”— The Great British Bake Off fans react to Illiyin getting sick after Jeff's exit due to health reasons

The Great British Bake Off, Channel 4's popular baking competition, season 15 premiered on September 24, 2024. The segment saw a new batch of contestants take to the tents as they began creating unique and delicious creations for the judges.

So far, the show has aired two episodes and has seen two contestants fall ill. While Jeff, the 67-year-old former university lecturer fell ill in episode 1 and had to leave the competition, 31-year-old Illiyin missed showing the judges her creation after feeling dizzy.

Fans took to social media to react to the contestants of The Great British Bake Off falling sick. One person wrote on X:

"I picked Illiyin to replace Jeff. Am I cursing the bakers???"

"What’s happening this year, everyone’s getting poorly!!! We’ve lost poor Jeff, now poor Illiyin!! It’s rather stressful in the bake off tent this year!!" a fan commented.

"I think there's be a toxic gas leak in the tent that has taken down Jeff and Illiyin but has actually stabilised Paul's mood x" a tweet read.

Worrying about Jeff's well-being, fans said:

"Jeff looks genuinely ill to me. Stop being so nasty about him putting his health first. If he is well and he wants one he should get a spot in next year's competition," a person wrote.

"So has Jeff gone for good or will he be back and actually do a technical next week? If he's so poorly don't bring him back," a fan commented.

"I get the feeling Jeff is permanently 'not well'" a tweet read.

The Great British Bake Off season 15 fans further said:

"That Jeff on #GBBO. Why did he apply and why did they put him through, someone else could've had that spot," a person wrote.

"#GBBO decisions about contestants are beyond questionable. Jeff was never up to the series because of his health but the team decided to go for him instead of one of the candidates (like me) more likely to make it all the way through to the final if that’d been the case," a fan commented.

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What happened to Jeff and Illiyin on The Great British Bake Off season 15?

In The Great British Bake Off season 15 episode 1, Jeff fell ill and had to exit the show temporarily. He returned to the Channel 4 show to power through his illness the following week.

In episode 2, just before the Technical challenge, the contestant decided to call it quits as he still didn't feel his best. Illiyin, a 31-year-old midwife, also faced a health issue as she fainted in the tents.

Although the contestant made it through the technical challenge, she was unable to complete her showstopper due to the sudden fainting spell. She told another contestant she felt dizzy before she fainted. Medical personnel rushed to help The Great British Bake Off contestant and she had to sit out for the remainder of the episode.

In his exit interview, Jeff said that it just "wasn't right" for him. He stated at the time that he enjoyed his time on the show and praised his competitors. He said everyone had been "wonderful" and that they were a "great group" of bakers.

Jeff took to social media to acknowledge his untimely exit from the show and called being on the baking competition, an "amazing and challenging experience." He said that although he was unable to continue for long, he had the pleasure of meeting incredible bakers who participated in season 15.

"What a wonderful group of people and they were also excellent bakers. The production team are the nicest, most hard working people you will ever come across," he wrote.

Fans reacted to multiple people falling sick on the show online and expressed worry about Jeff and Illiyin.

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The Great British Bake Off airs episodes weekly on Mondays on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Fans can watch the show in the USA on Netflix as The Great British Baking Show, which airs episodes on Netflix every Friday.