04 August 2023 , 12:25
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Earlier this week, former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley slammed the baker who shared her response when asked by a party planner, understood to be working for the actress, for for free cakes in exchange for social media exposure.
Three Little Birds Bakery said it received a request from an events agency to make a cake and 100 cupcakes for the birthday of an unidentified "well-known" celebrity – later revealed to be soap star Catherine, 39. The bakery, located in Keighley, West Yorkshire, responded to the request by declining the offer, with owner Rebecca Severs saying her staff "can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram".
"I'm so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can't afford to pay small businesses for their products," she wrote. "Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn't take payment 'in the form of promotion on their socials', and my staff can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I'll have to decline your very generous offer."
Alongside screenshots of the emails sent, the bakery wrote in the post: "This poor celebrity apparently can't afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What happened to women supporting women."
Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley slammed the baker who shared her response (Getty Images)
Catherine Tyldesley addresses free cake row (Instagram/auntiecath17)Following the emergence of 'cake gate', Catherine has since responded in a video uploaded to her Instagram story to clarify she did not know the emails were being sent. In the video, Catherine told: "Cake gate, what! So I have no idea those emails were being sent. I'm not working with the lovely OK! Magazine on anything that I'm aware of and NVRLAND are an amazing company. They've supplied me with performers in the past. They're insane and they've been completely misrepresented in this matter. Utterly bizarre. Don't really know what to say. I mean I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving."
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After denying that she was the one to send the emails, eagle-eyed fans have discovered a historic tweet from Catherine's Twitter account where she asks for 'cheap' cakes in her area. "Can anyone recommend a good cake maker in Manchester?? Not too expensive," the soap star wrote at the time.
In response to the tweet that has now resurfaced, one social media user responded as they cheekily replied to the tweet ten years later after Catherine posted it in 2013. "There's a lass in Leeds, best get on her good side now, she'll be fuming with you in 10 years time," they quipped. While another mocked: "Cake beg."
Catherine Tyldesley asks for 'cheap' cake recommendations in resurfaced tweet after cake gate (Twitter)Catherine, who played Eva Price on the soap until 2018, was named as the celebrity at the heart of the freebie row after another bakery claimed they were sent a similar request for free stuff for the 40th birthday bash – and were told the request was for the former Corrie actress.
Leeds-based NVRLND claimed their email had been "completely misconstrued" Founder Victoria Eames said: "NVRLND contacted Three Little Birds Bakery to offer them the opportunity to collaborate with one of our clients to cater for a party. As part of the collaboration, our client would cover all of Three Little Birds Bakery’s expenses and costs in exchange for social media content and local and national exposure for their business. To confirm, NVRLND are also retained on the same expenses-only basis."
She continued as she explained they selected the Three Little Birds Bakery to help "support a local business and help them grow", before adding: "Our aim is to connect small local businesses with the opportunity of growth and the possibility of a full diary which is what we have experienced when working on past collaborations. We would never expect any business to be out of pocket and nor would our client. Our email communication to Three Little Birds has unfortunately been completely misconstrued."
NVRLND also added that they could not reveal who the celebrity client was at the heart of the request.