Great British Bake Off betting storm

A report has alleged that insiders at the BBC may have been betting on the results of the Great British Bake Off, because they already know who has won. The final isn't screened until tomorrow, so viewers will have to wait to see whether Nadiya Hussain, Ian Cumming or Tamal Ray will take the title. However, it was filmed weeks ago, and The Sun has claimed some of those who already know the result may be trying to cash in.

The allegations come from The Sun, which claims that a source at Ladbrokes told them that dozens of betting accounts had been opened by people with links to either the BBC or the production company behind the programme. The source claimed that 42 accounts opened in 48 hours all backing the same baker had set the alarm bells ringing.

There were already question marks over the betting back when the show first aired, when Ladbrokes suspended betting on the show. It was feared that news of the winner may have been leaked - as even then, one of the bakers was attracting 90% of all bets placed on the show. At the time it said: "As a bookie you sometimes just pull a market to have a breather if there is frantic activity centred around one runner at the expense of everyone else."

Those with long memories will be reminded of 2013, when Coral suspended betting, because 90% of bets were on the eventual winner, Frances Quinn.

A BBC spokesman told The Telegraph: "We have no knowledge of these claims and have asked The Sun to provide us with details to be able to look into it. We are still waiting."

We will therefore have to wait to hear the full story
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Bets still being placed

William Hill is still taking bets on the show - but if you don't want to know the identity of the favourite, don't check the odds.

If you are determined to gamble on the result of a reality TV show, there are other options. William Hill lets you bet on the winner of the X-Factor (Louisa Johnson is the current favourite). Alternatively you can bet on the first manager to lose all three acts (Simon Cowell is the favourite here), or an odd collection of different specials - ranging from live finalists forgetting their words or walking off the stage during a performance, to Cheryl announcing she is pregnant before the series ends.

Alternatively, for Strictly fans, with Paddy Power you can bet on the winner (Peter Andre remains the favourite and Jeremy Vine is now 100/1), the top male, the top female, or the next elimination (things aren't looking good for Carol Kirkwood).

And if reality TV isn't your passion, Paddy Power is offering bets on the next Dr Who. At the moment Katie Price and Katie Hopkins are both 150/1, and Alan Carr 100/1. Meanwhile, Ladbrokes is taking bets on the next James Bond. Its longest odds are on Jeremy Corbyn - currently 1007/1.

Although, as ever, if you choose to gamble, you have to accept the very strong likelihood that you will lose, and therefore should be financially comfortable with never seeing your stake again.

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