Vegans 'disappointed' after Great British Bake Off contestant turns out not to be vegan

Hopeful vegan fans of the Great British Bake Off took to social media on Wednesday night to voice their displeasure at a contestant who had been slated as being the show's first vegan baker but turned out not to be. Rav Bansal had spoken extensively in interviews about his interest in vegan baking but in fact, is not a currently practising vegan.

In an interview with IBTimes UK before the show aired, Bansal said: "I took part in a vegan challenge in 2014 which was supposed to be for two weeks, but eventually turned into six months. Although I am not a vegan now, I do have a predominantly plant-based diet."

In other interviews, Bansal talked about how veganism had helped him lose weight but when the show aired on Wednesday night, there was no mention of Rav's plant-based baking experiments. People who had tuned in to the show to see what could have been the series' first ever vegan baker took to Twitter to voice their disappointment.

Before the show started, vegans had been posting about their excitement at seeing Bansal and veganism represented on the show.

Jess from Rugeley initially tweeted her excitement at a vegan on the show before later saying she was "disappointed" at seeing Rav use eggs in his cooking.

Claire Hopkins from Cardiff said that it was a "missed opportunity" for the show and that she felt "cheated".

Jo from London said "I was told Rav was #vegan I was lied to".

The new series of the Great British Bake Off aired on Wednesday night at 8pm on BBC One – the series will continue for another nine episodes until a finale on the 26 October where one of the 12 contestants will be crowned winner.