Jeff Left 'The Great British Baking Show' Mid-Competition Due to Illness

Season 15 of The Great British Baking Show has gotten off to a much more chaotic start than most. In the season premiere, Jeff, a 67-year-old, felt too ill to finish the competition, and the show's judges used that as an excuse to not eliminate anyone.

Things didn't get any better in week two, though, and Jeff ultimately left the show for good. Now, many want to know what made Jeff leave, and whether he's all right now.

During week 2, Jeff got through the Signature Challenge but left the tent afterward to speak visit the medics. He was again feeling ill and wasn't sure he could continue, and while he did eventually return, he didn't put in nearly the amount of effort that would have been required to get him through the next part of the competition. All he seemed capable of doing was drinking tea.

“I’ve had enough. I just can’t do it,” Jeff said as he walked out of the tent.

Host Alison Hammond then approached him and asked if he was all right.

“Yeah, I’m done.”

"Are you done?" she asked in response.

“Yeah,” he said.

Alison then gave him a hug, and that was that. Jeff left the show in the middle of the competition, and it seems to have been because he was simply too ill to continue.

We don't know exactly what kind of illness the 67-year-old contracted, but competing in Bake Off while you're under the weather is extremely difficult, in part because the show is already highly stressful and requires you to work quickly.

After leaving the show, Jeff released a statement in which he shared the gratitude he felt for being allowed to compete on the show.

“The Bake Off has been an amazing and challenging experience of a lifetime," he said. "Although I was not able to continue for long, I had the pleasure of meeting all of the incredible bakers from Series 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. They are so supportive and positive. All the very best, always, Jeff, with every good wish!”

Fortunately, then, it seems that Jeff is still alive and well. He simply caught a bug at the wrong time, and even though he likely wanted to continue on the show, his body simply wouldn't allow him to.

The show will continue forward with the rest of its bakers, even though this circumstance is a rather unusual one for a show that is usually very light on reality TV drama.

Of course, the idea behind reality TV is that the real world sometimes intervenes to keep things from proceeding the way they ordinarily would. Thankfully, nothing all that bad happened, but Jeff's exit already makes this a fairly chaotic season by the usual calm standards that the show aspires to.