Great British Bake Off finalist Laura Adlington has called on viewers to show more kindness following Tuesday night’s semi final.

The Gravesend-born baker scraped through in patisserie week despite a difficult technical challenge, while fellow contestant Hermine was eliminated, prompting some to suggest on social media that the judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith had got it wrong.

Among the more polite critics on Twitter was one Jordan Groves, who tweeted: "I don't usually get angry about the Great British Bake Off of all things, but the fact that Laura has gone through yet again is ludicrous! She's been bad for several weeks in a row now."

Molly-Mae @mollymaehague added: "can I just say that I’m in complete shock that Hermine’s just been sent home ?! She’s messed up one thing and Laura’s messed up 6163 times? (No shade on Laura)"

Others went further in expressing their anger, and the backlash prompted Laura, who lives in Halling, to take to Twitter herself.

She urged people to "consider your words before you judge someone you've never met", and added: "It's ok to be sad your favourite person didn't go through, but please remember it's not my fault. I don't make the decisions. GBBO is all about kindness and I haven't seen much of that on here."

Judge Paul Hollywood also took to Instagram on Wednesday, writing: "I’ve heard of some sad people trolling Laura, it’s disgusting behaviour. 'Those of you who may not be aware how Bake Off works or new to the series may have missed what we have ALWAYS done on Bake Off judging.

"Each week stands on its own!! It never matters what any baker has done in previous weeks. Even if you win 4/5 star bakers and then have a bad week you will be at risk of going sadly. It’s the rule that has been in place for 11 years!!"

He added: "Also I ONLY give out handshakes in signature not in Showstopper or technical, there was on exception 3 years ago… STOP trolling any of the bakers!!

"Remember Prue and I can actually smell and eat the bakes… Bring on the final X'

Laura's final bake - a Black Forest Gateau cube cake - had melted in the heat and looked a bit messy, but the flavour impressed the judges enough for her to pull through, and she will take on David and Peter in next week's final.

She said: "I can't process it all right now. It's mad. I am in the final of the Great British Bake Off - the actual final."

The show airs next Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.

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