A former Great British Bake Off star has claimed that producers would deliberately 'bait' contestants behind the scenes in a bid to capture their most vulnerable moments on camera.

Ruby Tandoh, 33, who appeared on the hit show in 2013, revealed how emotions often spiralled inside the famous white tent - with producers swooping in whenever a contestant faltered, hoping to draw out tears and drama.

'They have the tightly honed intuition of storm chasers. They can spot a trembling hand from across the tent,' the Essex-born star wrote in The New Yorker.

'They swooped in on me and my now split custard, with backup from a pack of cameramen and sound guys.'

And Ruby said show bosses, in their eagerness for entertaining content, confessed to hoping for some drama on the show.

'We hope that they swim,' one producer once told Ruby of the bakers' fortunes. 'Or… we hope that they sink a bit. And then they swim.'

Ruby's journey began with a phone call from her mother in 2012 recommending she watch the cosy competition series.

Within weeks, she was hooked - studying the bakers' techniques, obsessing over Paul Hollywood's judging habits and even making filo pastry from scratch in a student flat. Before long, she had applied, submitting photos of elaborate tarts and pastries.

By 2013, Ruby was cast and appeared on the show aged 20, making her the youngest competitor on the series at the time. She went on to reach the all-women final, alongside Kimberley Wilson and Frances Quinn.

The audition process was gruelling - from technical interviews on meringues and bread crusts to in-person baking trials and even psychological assessments.

'All bakers-to-be must prove to her that they're fit for the rigours of reality TV,' Ruby said of psychotherapist Lynn Greenwood, who vetted every hopeful.

Soon Ruby found herself inside the Bake Off tent, set in the grounds of a grand Georgian house. Saturdays began at dawn, with nervous bakers ferried in minibuses as Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and the camera crews prepared for long days of filming.

The familiar three-act structure - Signature, Technical and Showstopper - played out just as viewers see at home.

But the pressure was relentless, and Ruby recalled bursting into tears only an hour into her first challenge after a custard turned greenish.

'I want to say that I don't know why I got so upset when things went wrong, but that would be a lie,' she admitted. 

'I didn't want to go home to my floorboard rats… and I wasn't ready for the one demonstrable show of brilliance in my life so far to turn out to be a joke.'

Ruby revealed how presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins often shielded bakers from the cameras when meltdowns occurred. Sue in particular would 'do a remarkable, jazzlike expletive improv until everyone gave up trying to film.'

Despite the stress, camaraderie blossomed among the contestants. Some bonded over baking tips in the house's snug between challenges, while others sneaked outside for cigarettes, swapping frustrations about the producers.

'We moaned about the challenges and the ambushes from producers,' the baker wrote. 'Their overeager commiserations, the way they'd bait you into narrating your downfall in real time.'

Judges Mary and Paul fascinated the contestants in different ways. Mary was warm but sparing in her praise, while Paul remained the tough taskmaster.

'He flips [bread] upside down, knocks on its bottom, interrogates it with sausage fingers,' Ruby said. Yet when he did approve of a bake, it meant everything.

One week, Ruby wowed him with a peacock-shaped sweet bread complete with chocolate-painted feather eyes, earning the coveted title of Star Baker.

But beneath the bunting and kindness, competition ran fierce, and some bakers secretly practiced through the night in their hotel rooms, determined not to slip up.

'There is a special censure among Bake Off alumni for bakers who want it too bad,' Ruby revealed. 'This is the essential hypocrisy of Bake Off, and it remains the most British thing about it.'

While the show champions amateur spirit, it has catapulted winners and finalists into stardom - from cookbooks and TV deals to viral fame.

As Ruby acknowledged, Bake Off has 'initiated the single biggest transfer of power in the history of Britain's food culture,' opening the baking world far beyond the privileged few.

Reflecting on her own career after the tent, Ruby admitted success followed quickly, with newspaper columns and cookbooks. But alongside opportunity came criticism and pressure.

'A few people online said I must have flirted with Paul Hollywood to get to the final,' Ruby said, admitting she spent years pushing back against such claims.

Even now, Ruby remains struck by the paradox at the heart of Bake Off - a show that insists it is gentle and kind, while carefully constructing tension behind the scenes.

Daily Mail have contacted the BBC for comment.