Usually, The Great British Bake-Off is filmed between April and June.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that fans have been wondering whether the most recent batch of bakers would be subjected to multiple record-breaking heatwaves.

The show (partly) addressed the problem directly on its Instagram page on May 27, soon after we saw the hottest May day on record.

“Us filming chocolate week,” they wrote over a clip of the iconic GBBO tent. The video was overlaid with the sound of comedian Peter Kay’s famous bit: “I like it warm, but I don’t like it this warm!”

“It’s always chocolate week when we have a heatwave,” a commenter wrote.

The Mirror reported that the show’s filming is still “underway”, and that its cameras were rolling during the June heatwave, too.

That meant amateur bakers had to continue to work their culinary magic while schools had closed due to the heat, and travellers had been advised to avoid “non-essential” journeys.

Though some fans worried filming would have to stop, the publication confirmed the show went on.

A source from the show told The Mirror, “Every measure that could be taken has been, to make the bakers comfortable. The lighting gaffer from the crew who’s in first every morning, opens up the tent, takes down the sides and gets airflow moving before everyone arrives.

“Earlier in the run, when temperatures were the opposite and it was freezing, he was doing the same thing in reverse, arriving early to put the heaters on and warm the tent up before the bakers and crew got in.

“Production runners have also kept everyone going in the heat by handing out ice lollies to bakers and crew throughout the day.”

Another source reportedly told The Mirror that the tent’s location near a cooling river, and a “welcome” breeze in the final weekend of May, made filming possible.

In 2018, then-hosts Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith shared how heatwaves affect bakers’ creations.

Prue told Rolling Stone conditions were “Worse for the bakers than for us, because we just come in briefly and go out. They’re in there all the time,” while Paul added: “Yeah, chocolate week suffered a little bit. Caramel sugarwork suffered a little bit”.

Ironically, he added, bread week – when warm conditions would have made loaves rise faster – was a little cooler that year.

New host Nigella Lawson has previously said she is “allergic to the sun”, so time will only tell how she handled the hotter temps.

HuffPost UK has reached out to Channel 4 for more details.

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You know the drill. You make a little tweak in your home, and suddenly it reveals a world of possibility. That countertop that needs sanding, or (god forbid) a new floor.

Often the most tricky aspect of a renovation to nail down – choosing the right colour and material is a ball ache – flooring can get expensive extremely fast.

But good news if you’re about to embark on a new underfoot experience: Floor Street has made the entire experience much more economical with its 60% off summer sale.

From engineered wood to carpet runners, Floor Street has huge savings on its entire range from now until the end of July.

To save you even more hassle than you need, we’ve rounded up the best flooring options from the sale that are durable, easy to install and, most importantly, look stylish.

As well as offering premium flooring for less (what’s not to love?) Floor Street also prioritises the customer experience.

On top of next working day delivery, all of its flooring options are easy to install, and are durable enough to outlast the mess of every day life.

Each option comes with its own warranty, from 25 years to life, and Floor Street sources its wood from FSC certified forests, so it’s kind to your home and the planet.

With travel becoming a logistical nightmare, we’re all after a taste of hotel life in our own homes with boutique-inspired herringbone and chevron flooring.

While real wood comes with a hefty price tag attached to it, engineered wood is rising the ranks because it’s easy to install, is compatible with under floor heating, and it can withstand a room with changing temperatures.

If you’re on DIY TikTok you will have noticed stair runners are having a moment, because there’s no reason your eye for design can’t extend upwards.

Recently, Mount Etna – Europe’s most active volcano – saw a spectacular burst of lava, which the BBC reported could be seen from “miles away”.

It followed reports of lava flowing down the volcano days before and raised the alert level in the area.

Mount Etna’s eruptions are pretty frequent, with 11 reported bursts in three weeks taking place in 2021. These can sometimes lead to ash plumes.

So what might that mean for those travelling to the area?

While the ash clouds typical of Mt Etna’s eruptions can affect flights, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told HuffPost UK that these disruptions are less severe than they used to be.

Spokesperson Jonathan Nicholson said: “Following the 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland and the lessons learned since, volcanic eruptions now cause less disruption to aviation.

“The whole sector learned a lot about the impact that volcanic ash can have, while new technology and understanding means the impact can be better handled to minimise any disruption to passengers.”

Still, Italy’s Civil Protection Department said on its site that ash clouds can affect the Catania Fontanarossa, Sigonella, and Reggio Calabria airports and may “cause significant disruption to the transport sector”.

Keep an eye on your airline and airports’ updates if you’re travelling to the area.

“The lava flows of Etna, due to their viscosity and consequent low… speed, [usually don’t] constitute a danger to the safety of people.

“In [cases where] leakage occurs from [areas of] high altitude, the flows would rarely reach the towns,” Italy’s Civil Protection Department shared on their site.

In the rare case that an eruption might threaten a town, they added, it “is usually possible to implement measures aimed at altering their path”.

The most dangerous type of eruption, they continued, comes from “vents placed at low altitude: in such case the time to carry out any cooling flows would clearly be reduced, and most probably it would be useful to resort to the evacuation of the population from threatened areas”.

In 1983, 1992, 2001 and 2002, some canals were excavated, others had their banks reinforced, and barriers were laid down to change the direction of the lava flow.

“It should be noted that in the last two cases, interventions were designed to protect tourist infrastructures located at high altitudes,” the government body added.

Multiple monitoring systems, including thermal cameras, constantly track the mountain’s status.

You can check on the volcano’s status via INGV.

It’s crucially important to keep up-to-date with the volcano’s status if you’re visiting. Follow all local weather advice.

You probably already know that walking is really, really good for us, but you might not be aware just how little you have to stroll to see some benefits.

As few as 2,337 steps a day can lower your risk of dying from heart-related health conditions, including heart attack and stroke. Even a quarter of an hour’s stroll a day works wonders for our health.

No wonder the NHS previously called the activity “overlooked”.

And starting in 2027, NHS England will begin offering rewards for those who manage to go for a roughly half-hour-long stroll once a day for a month.

The program, called “marathon a month” or Movement 26.2, will give those who log 42.195 km a month incentives.

It’s the result of the government’s 10-year health plan for England.

The marathon a month scheme has been developed with Sir Brendan Foster, a former Olympic medallist.

Sir Foster said: “I’m known for running, but the ambition here is far simpler. We just want people to walk. Simple,” the BBC reported.

He also stated, “The WHO recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. We realised that adds up to roughly the distance of a marathon every month.”

The 10-year health plan claims physical inactivity costs the NHS £10.5 billion a year.

It’s hoped that the walking scheme will attract 100,000 users in a single month in 2027.

It’s expected to begin early next year.

So far, it looks like Movement 26.2 is about your overall monthly walking distance. You likely won’t have to keep up a streak every single day, though Sir Forster said the program will tap into the mentality behind e.g. Snapchat streaks.

“If someone walks 30 minutes five times a week, they could gain up to four extra years of healthy life,” he said.

You will need to log your miles via a smartphone or smartwatch. It’ll be officiated by the NHS Points Scheme.

Sir Foster said that the rewards will start off digital, but will eventually become more material.

“Initially there’ll be digital rewards, like keeping a streak going for three months. Over time, there’ll be other kinds of rewards – medals, T-shirts, but also discounts and rewards,” he claimed.

“Nigel Farage is dead in the water,” Piers Morgan boldly declared on the BBC last Sunday.

The broadcaster said the Reform UK leader has been left “rattled” by the row over the undeclared £5 million gift he received from a crypto billionaire.

Farage received the huge lump sum just before he announced he was running in the general election back in 2024.

Though he insists he has not broken any rules, he is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog for not declaring the money when he was elected MP for Clacton.

If he is found guilty, Farage could even face a by-election if he is suspended from parliament for longer than 10 days.

But a senior Reform UK source told HuffPost UK: “If Labour are smart, they’ll suspend him for nine days, which would mean he’s guilty but wouldn’t trigger a by-election.

“If they’re daft enough to suspend him for longer, Nigel would easily win the by-election and could then just turn around and say voters don’t care about it whenever the £5 million gift gets brought up again.”

It is Farage’s reaction to the furore which has raised eyebrows among his political allies, as well as as enemies.

Not so long ago, it was virtually impossible to switch on the TV or radio without being confronted by Farage’s grinning face, while he was holding press conferences the length and breadth of the country on a weekly basis.

But since the Harborne story was broken by The Guardian in April, he has been noticeably more camera-shy.

And when he has made himself available for scrutiny, his explanation for the gift, and what he plans to do with his massive windfall, has been far from consistent.

At first, he said the funds were to be spent on his private security, then he claimed it was given to him as a reward for his Brexit campaigning.

On a round of car crash interviews two weeks ago, he insisted it was no one’s business but his, and he could spend the money on Ferraris if he wanted to.

Farage has also insisted that the money was unconditional, but he now faces the prospect of a second parliamentary probe over claims he lobbied the Bank of England to drop a cryptocurrency plan that could have impacted Christopher Harborne’s own business.

Questions about Farage’s personal finances emerged again this week when it was revealed he was paid £270,000 – or £22,500 an hour – to promote a gold bullion company.

To make matters worse, The Times revealed on Wednesday that Farage has a property empire worth £4 million – with only two out of five his homes being declared to parliament.

Farage denies any wrongdoing, but even his own supporters are concerned about the effect the various controversies are having on the Reform leader.

“Nigel is tired and stressed,” said one ally. “He needs to have a rest.”

As the party’s frontman, recent months have been especially punishing for Farage.

He led his party’s campaign in the May 7 elections, which then straight into the Makerfield by-election, which saw Andy Burnham comfortably defeat Reform’s Robert Kenyon.

That result confirmed that despite leading in the national opinion polls for the best part of two years, Reform’s electoral record has been decidedly patchy of late.

In February, the Greens’ Hannah Spencer defeated Reform’s Matt Goodwin in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

And last October, Plaid Cymru won the Caerphilly by-election for the Welsh Senedd, confirming that anti-Reform tactical voting is a major problem for the party.

This will once again be evident in the by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty at the end of July, which Reform insiders concede they are likely to lose to Labour.

Internal divisions risk rocking Farage’s party, too.

Tensions between senior figures have burst into the open, with home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf publicly slapping down Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick in May over Reform’s own immigration plans.

Some see that as a foretaste of the jockeying for position which would inevitably take place if Farage did decide to chuck it all in – a scenario he openly speculated on in a recent LBC interview in which he also refused to say he wants to be prime minister.

Former Reform chair David Bull said earlier this month that Farage is not bigger than his party, but few believe that it would be business as usual for Reform should he end up being replaced by one of his underlings.

It is far too early to write Farage off, however.

This is a man, after all, whose time in the public eye appeared to be over until he made the unlikeliest of comebacks by coming third on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! in 2023.

His victory in Clacton in 2024 also followed seven previously unsuccessful attempts to get a seat in the Commons.

If there is one thing Farage is good at, it is defying the odds.

Who, for instance, would have thought he would successfully campaign to take the UK out of the European Union when he first emerged on the political scene as chairman of the UK Independence Party back in 1998?

In this week’s Commons People podcast, we examine the row threatening to bring down the Reform leader – and assess whether or not the end really is nigh for the comeback kid of British politics.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.