Manchester-based baker Rich Myers, owner of GET BAKED, has publicly rebuked ITV following a requet for complimentary food for The Voice celebrity guests. The broadcaster reportedly offered "exposure" to influential coaches as a substitute for monetary payment.

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The £350 million profit vs. the £20 Bertha cake

The request for free goods highlights a massive disparity in wealth between media giants and independent creators. According to the report, the production team for The Voice sought complimentary products for talent dressing rooms and green rooms, offering "exposure" to influential coaches and presenters as the only form of compensation.

Rich Myers, who is famous for his £20 Bertha cake, argued that such a request from a wealthy conglomerate is unacceptable. Myers noted that ITV reported pre-tax profits of approximately £350 million, making the attempt to source free items from a small business like GET BAKED appear predatory rather than collaborative.

A viewership drop from 8.6 million to 2.8 million

The audacity of the request comes at a time when The Voice is facing a significant decline in its audience reach. As reported by the source, viewership for the show has plummeted from 8.6 million in 2015 to just 2.8 million in 2024.

This decline in popularity adds a layer of irony to the production team's attempt to leverage the show's "high calibre of talent" as a bargaining chip. While the show once commanded a massive portion of the UK television market, its shrinking footprint may explain why its marketing value is being used to solicit free labor from small businesses in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Rich Myers’ blunt Instagram response to the ITV hierarchy

Rich Myers responded to the email with a scathing message shared on his Instagram account, which has over 361,000 followers. Rather than a polite refusal, Myers directed a blunt message toward the production team's leadership, telling the Daily Mail that the request "should be made illegal" given the scale of ITV's profits.

The baker's response included a terse directive to the email sender's superiors, essentially telling the hierarchy to "f*** off" on his behalf... Despite his anger, Myers clarified that he did not blame the individual employee who sent the email, instead ugring other small business owners to refuse similar corporate demands.

Will Lifted Entertainment's apology actually end the "exposure" requests?

Lifted Entertainment has issued an apology regarding the incident, stating they are contacting Myers directly to resolve the matter. A spokesperson for the company claimed that immediate steps are being taken to prevent such requests from occurring in the future.

However, several questions remain regarding the systemic nature of this practice within the UK media landscape. It remains unverified whether this was an isolated error by a single production team or if "exposure" remains a standard, albeit controversial, procurement strategy for ITV's various programs. Furthermore, the industry has yet to see if Lifted Entertainment will implement formal policy changes to ensure small businesses like GET BAKED are compensated fairly for their products, such as their £7 pies or £4 brownies.