A Great British Bake Off Halloween special was given a trigger warning by Channel 4.

       The Halloween Week episode from 2022 was deemed inappropriate for children, with guidance on Channel 4’s streaming service stating it “isn’t suitable for younger viewers”.

       The message, which was placed under a red “Guidance” symbol, was featured on the website and app for the sixth episode of series 13, according to The Sun.

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       In the episode, the Bake Off tent was decorated with skeletons, spiderwebs and balloons. Contestants were asked to create apple and pumpkin bakes for the competition.

       Guidance warnings are usually reserved for harmful or offensive material, such as strong language, violence, graphic images and sexual behaviour.

       Sir John Hayes, the senior Tory MP, told The Sun: “Most people find these type of trigger warnings very bizarre. The idea that the Great British Bake Off could be risky or dangerous is for the birds.”

       Since the newspaper contacted the streaming service the warning has been removed and no longer appears next to the episode.

       Trigger warnings are increasingly being used in television, literature and theatre. The BBC’s suburban sitcom Terry and June was given a trigger warning for “discriminatory” language.

       Ahead of the episode, viewers are warned that the programme, which ran between 1979 and 1987, “contains discriminatory language of the period”.

       Literary precedent

       A number of important pieces of literature, including Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, have been hit with such warnings in recent years.

       The University of Nottingham put the warning on the medieval collection of 24 tales about pilgrims going to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the shrine of St Thomas Becket.

       In 2022, the University of Leeds issued similar warnings on dozens of classic works including Tarzan and Robinson Crusoe amid fears about how content including war, death, violence and suicide might affect students.

       Shakespeare’s Globe issued “content guidance” earlier this year for a production of Antony and Cleopatra, warning that it contained “depictions of suicide, scenes of violence and war, and misogynoir references”.

       Trigger warnings at the theatre were also used in the 2023 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a 2021 production of Romeo and Juliet.

       Leading figures in the industry such as Dame Judie Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Sir Ian McKellen have been outspoken about their opposition to the content warnings.

       A Channel 4 spokesman said: “The Great British Bake Off is a family show, loved by audiences of all ages. Any guidance warnings were applied in error.”