The National:

THE idea that Scotland is part of a "union of equals" is now so ridiculous that even light-hearted baking shows can't keep up the pretence.

The line-up has been revealed for the latest edition of the Great British Bake-off, with a total of 12 contestants battling to come out on top – and it’s so dismal that even fans in England are complaining.

You might think, given that there are a dozen people competing, even just the law of chance would mean at least one of the bakers would come from Scotland or Wales. It’s the “British bake-off”, after all.

But no. Keeping pace with the attitude of the UK Parliament, those two nations have been entirely snubbed in favour of England.

The competitors are made up of four from London, another four from the South of England excluding London, two from the North (of England) and two from the Midlands (of England).

It isn’t surprising, but there's something grimly amusing about it all.

Social media users have been quick to rebrand the competition as “the Great English Bake-off” – though the North-East of England isn’t too happy either, being among the regions snubbed.

Twitter users made their voice heard:

It's all the more egregious when, last year, an average of 9.2 million viewers tuned in to see Scottish student Peter Sawkins pick up the top prize for his baking.

Maybe it's time for Scotland to have our own spin-off...