Gingerbread

Paddy McGuinness explores the secrets of the Original Biscuit Bakers factory in Shropshire to reveal how it makes 100,000 festive gingerbread figures every week in the run-up to Christmas. And it's all hands on deck as he's joined in the factory by co-presenter Cherry Healey. Together, they get stuck into the baking and icing, and following the production of Santa and reindeer biscuits.

The merriment begins outside at the intake area with a delivery of the all-important ground ginger, where Paddy meets managing director Gemma Williams. Then, with a sprinkle of Christmas magic, Paddy and Gemma appear in the mixing area – hair nets on – ready to mix a batch of biscuits. Paddy learns that two types of sugar are used, demerara for a caramelised flavour and granulated sugar for a neutral sweetness. Then, in goes a mix of vegetable oils called shortening, bicarbonate of soda to help the biscuits rise a little and, of course, the ground ginger. They're followed by flour, golden syrup and water before being mixed together to create gingerbread dough.

Gemma loads the dough into a machine, transforming it into one-centimetre-thick sheets, ready to make the gingerbread shapes. Meanwhile, Paddy can't resist wallowing in the Christmas joy of the factory, taking extra time to chat to the staff and even sign some autographs. Next, the sheets of dough travel through a special roller that transforms them into Santa-shaped pieces. And after 25 minutes in the oven, Paddy is able to taste the fruits of his labour.

Now it's time to create the icing which will adorn all the gingerbread figures. And for that, it's over to Cherry, who is helping to make sugar paste icing for Santa's red waistcoat. Cherry meets Steph to learn how icing sugar, xanthan gum and sugar gum are mixed together, along with a food colouring called Christmas red, to create a firm paste. The icing is then rolled out and stamped into waistcoat-shaped pieces before being stuck onto Santa's biscuit body.

Back with Paddy, he and Gemma are in the heart of the factory, the busy icing room, where Paddy gets a crash course in how to pipe runny royal icing onto the Santa biscuits. With the eyes of the staff on him, he's under pressure to create Santa's hands, eyes and eyebrows. He's never known stress like it, and it doesn't help that Cherry is watching on too!

Then it's Cherry's turn to ice by hand the reindeer figures – she concedes she shouldn't have mocked Paddy's attempt! Luckily, the factory's team of highly skilled professionals make quick work of decorating their biscuits perfectly every time. Once the icing has dried, every biscuit is packed, loaded into boxes and stacked onto pallets ready to leave the factory. Then it's outside for Paddy to watch a lorry full of 100,000 gingerbread figures leave the factory, destined for the stockings of well-behaved biscuit lovers everywhere.

Elsewhere in the episode, Cherry learns how to make it snow indoors, visiting a ski centre in Milton Keynes, where a huge snow cannon creates a winter wonderland. And she perfects the art of Christmas present wrapping with the help of mathematician Bobby Seagull. Meanwhile, historian Ruth Goodman settles in for a special message from history for peace on earth with British astronaut Helen Sharman.