Scottish Bakers criticises The Great British Bake Off for lack of Scottish contestants.

The 12 amateur bakers, who will be battling it out for the Bake Off crown over the next few weeks will include one Welshwoman, a Northern Irishman and 10 from England.

The lack of Scottish bakers has baffled Scottish Bakers chief executive Alan Clarke, who felt the line-up for Britain’s favourite amateur baking show was unrepresentative.

He said: “The market, for people who bake at home, is alive and well in Scotland. Not having a Scottish entrant in Bake Off is not reflective of home baking or the bakery industry in Scotland.

“Obviously, Scotland has a smaller population than England, but has the second-largest national population in the UK and I think it would enrich the competition had there been Scottish entrants.”

The show garnered the largest TV audience of 2015 – reaching 14.5m views – and the popularity seems to have spun off into the baking industry.

This month, Greater Manchester saw a 27% rise in specialist bakeries since The Great British Bake Off series first aired in 2010, according to the Office for National Statistics.