Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins says he does not ‘identify as LGBTQ+’ after fan speculation
Baker had posted a video to Instagram in which he held hands with a man, leading fans to believe he had come out
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Great British Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins has clarified that he does not “identify as LGBTQ+” after fans thought he came out on social media.
The 21-year-old, who won the Channel 4 baking show in 2020, delighted fans as he shared a compilation of clips on Instagram last week from a recent holiday.
In various parts of the video, which is soundtracked by the song “I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez, Sawkins appears to be holding hands with a man.
Many of his followers interpreted this post as Sawkins coming out, flooding the comments section with rainbow emojis.
“Well I didn’t see that coming. Delightful. Congratulations!” Bake Off host Matt Lucas wrote.
However, on Monday (20 June), Sawkins posted a “clarification” to his Instagram Stories, explaining that he was “trying to address this with sensitivity and kindness”.
“I recently posted a reel from my holiday. Some news sites and comments celebrated this as me coming out, and I can appreciate how this has happened. However, this is not the case,” he wrote.
“I do not identify as LGBTQ+. I fully support the LGBTQ+ community and will try to be an ally as best as I can.”
The Scottish baker continued: “Representation within the LGBTQ+ community across society is incredibly important. This is why I felt the need to clarify in this story. Written with love, Peter.”
When Sawkins won Bake Off, he was the show’s youngest ever champion.