By . Alasdair Glennie . and Lucy Osborne for the Daily Mail . and Paul Harris for the Daily Mail . Great British Bake Off contestant Diana Beard has revealed she left the show not because of the ice cream pudding controversy, but because she lost her sense of smell and taste in a freak accident. Viewers of this week’s Great British Bake Off saw one contestant’s ice cream pudding reduced to slush in an apparent act of sabotage by Mrs Beard, causing her rival to storm off and also be eliminated from the competition. The grandmother has since railed against the BBC1 show's producers, claiming their editing 'fakery' made it appear as though it was a deliberate act of sabotage. She has also now clarified that she left the show because she fainted and banged her head during supper with the other contestants just before production of the following episode was due to start. In a freak accident, the pensioner, who lives near Whitchurch in Shropshire, said: 'I fainted - which I have never done - and bashed my head, severing my olfactory nerve. So I have now lost my sense of smell and most of my taste.' She added that she has some sensation of foods which are very salty or vinegary, but has been told by a specialist that nothing medically can be done to repair the damage and she may never fully recover her senses. Stroll down for video . Upset: Diana Beard, 69, pictured at her home in Shropshire, says she has been unfairly blamed for a rival's failed Baked Alaska on last night's show - it later emerged that she never returned to the show . Wednesday night's show descended into chaos when bearded competitor Iain Watters binned his pudding after the ice cream melted in the 25C heat and stormed out of the tent . Diana Bird - who at 69 is the show's oldest ever contestant -  was clearly seen removing his pudding from the freezer despite being warned by another that it belonged to him - but Mrs Beard said today she was the victim of a 'stitch up' Meltdown: This is the moment Iain Watters decided he had to bin his Baked Alaska after it collapsed . Grey-haired Mrs Beard, 69, wept as she . claimed the corporation had cast her as the villain, deliberately . editing the show to make it look as if she had left the dessert out of . the freezer for several minutes. The Daily Mirror reported she said: 'It's a form of fakery and trickery. 'They deliberately misled viewers and exploited me for the sake of entertainment. The BBC should be ashamed.' The scandal is the . biggest to hit Bake Off since last year’s Custardgate drama, when one . contestant tearfully admitted taking another’s custard to use in a . trifle. Getting to the soggy bottom of the baked Alaska incident, however, was proving rather more difficult last night. The . story starts on Wednesday when 8million viewers watched bearded Iain . Watters, 31, throw a wobbly when he found his dessert had been reduced . to a splodge after Mrs Beard took it out of the freezer. Diana Beard says the knives have been out for her and she sobbed after watching the show last night . Mr Watters, 31, screamed in frustration and was knocked out of the competition after he walked up to judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with a bin in his hand instead of a pudding . He was eliminated after he presented it in a bin to judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, then stormed off set. That . led to Mrs Beard, from Shropshire, being pilloried as a cheat in cruel . online comments. There were more than 550 complaints to the BBC. She, . however, insisted the recording had been edited to make it seem as if . she had left the meringue and ice cream dessert out for minutes, rather . than seconds. ‘They deliberately misled viewers and exploited me for the . sake of entertainment,’ she said. ‘The BBC should be ashamed. ‘The . cake was out of the freezer for 40 seconds and I was asking who it . belonged to. Then Iain walked over and took it away. It happened as . simply as that. ‘Iain didn’t . blame me at all. I was very disappointed and upset by how they cleverly . edited the show and as a result I have people saying all sorts of nasty . things about me.’ What happened to Iain's baked Alaska and is the BBC to blame for its destruction? Others pointed out that Wednesday’s episode had been . filmed in a tent in the May heatwave. Fellow competitor Jordan Cox, 33, . said some freezers had not worked properly in the heat and added: ‘Poor . Diana is a scapegoat for BBC.’ The BBC has received at least 811 complaints about the episode, and the regulator Ofcom received another 13 - a baker's dozen. Twelve of the complaints to Ofcom were raising concerns about the apparent sabotage of the bearded baker's dessert, the regulator said. But today the regulator confirmed it will not investigate further, saying: 'Having assessed viewers’ complaints received to date, they do not raise issues warranting further investigation under Ofcom’s rules.' A spokesman added that if further complaints are raised they will be addressed. Judge Mary Berry, 79, said his behaviour was 'unacceptable' and refused to put him through to the next round . The Irish construction engineer won the sympathy of many who felt he had been the victim of an underhand plot by his rivals . How the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday's scandal . Even . Mr Watters said: ‘I don’t hold Diana responsible in any way. There are . no grudges, we are still friends and keep in contact regularly.’ However, he disputed the claim that the dessert was out of the freezer . for only 40 seconds or so, saying it must have been longer because . otherwise it would not have melted so much. A . BBC spokesman said: ‘Diana removing Iain’s ice cream from the freezer . for less than a minute was in no way responsible for Iain’s departure.’
Diana Beard says 'knives are out' for her and she cried after seeing show .
Rival Iain Watters stormed off set when his Baked Alaska collapsed .
Mrs Beard seen taking it from fridge - but she says it was back in in seconds .
'I've been stitched up. Why would I .
want to sabotage Iain's Baked Alaska?'
It emerged today that she never returned to the Bake Off after episode .
She left the show after a freak fall left her with no sense of taste and smell .
BBC: .
'Diana will not appear in the rest of the series as she fell ill'
BBC received 800 complaints and Ofcom had 13, but will not investigate .
By . Alasdair Glennie . and Lucy Osborne for the Daily Mail . and Paul Harris for the Daily Mail . Great British Bake Off contestant Diana Beard has revealed she left the show not because of the ice cream pudding controversy, but because she lost her sense of smell and taste in a freak accident. Viewers of this week’s Great British Bake Off saw one contestant’s ice cream pudding reduced to slush in an apparent act of sabotage by Mrs Beard, causing her rival to storm off and also be eliminated from the competition. The grandmother has since railed against the BBC1 show's producers, claiming their editing 'fakery' made it appear as though it was a deliberate act of sabotage. She has also now clarified that she left the show because she fainted and banged her head during supper with the other contestants just before production of the following episode was due to start. In a freak accident, the pensioner, who lives near Whitchurch in Shropshire, said: 'I fainted - which I have never done - and bashed my head, severing my olfactory nerve. So I have now lost my sense of smell and most of my taste.' She added that she has some sensation of foods which are very salty or vinegary, but has been told by a specialist that nothing medically can be done to repair the damage and she may never fully recover her senses. Stroll down for video . Upset: Diana Beard, 69, pictured at her home in Shropshire, says she has been unfairly blamed for a rival's failed Baked Alaska on last night's show - it later emerged that she never returned to the show . Wednesday night's show descended into chaos when bearded competitor Iain Watters binned his pudding after the ice cream melted in the 25C heat and stormed out of the tent . Diana Bird - who at 69 is the show's oldest ever contestant - was clearly seen removing his pudding from the freezer despite being warned by another that it belonged to him - but Mrs Beard said today she was the victim of a 'stitch up' Meltdown: This is the moment Iain Watters decided he had to bin his Baked Alaska after it collapsed . Grey-haired Mrs Beard, 69, wept as she . claimed the corporation had cast her as the villain, deliberately . editing the show to make it look as if she had left the dessert out of . the freezer for several minutes. The Daily Mirror reported she said: 'It's a form of fakery and trickery. 'They deliberately misled viewers and exploited me for the sake of entertainment. The BBC should be ashamed.' The scandal is the . biggest to hit Bake Off since last year’s Custardgate drama, when one . contestant tearfully admitted taking another’s custard to use in a . trifle. Getting to the soggy bottom of the baked Alaska incident, however, was proving rather more difficult last night. The . story starts on Wednesday when 8million viewers watched bearded Iain . Watters, 31, throw a wobbly when he found his dessert had been reduced . to a splodge after Mrs Beard took it out of the freezer. Diana Beard says the knives have been out for her and she sobbed after watching the show last night . Mr Watters, 31, screamed in frustration and was knocked out of the competition after he walked up to judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with a bin in his hand instead of a pudding . He was eliminated after he presented it in a bin to judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, then stormed off set. That . led to Mrs Beard, from Shropshire, being pilloried as a cheat in cruel . online comments. There were more than 550 complaints to the BBC. She, . however, insisted the recording had been edited to make it seem as if . she had left the meringue and ice cream dessert out for minutes, rather . than seconds. ‘They deliberately misled viewers and exploited me for the . sake of entertainment,’ she said. ‘The BBC should be ashamed. ‘The . cake was out of the freezer for 40 seconds and I was asking who it . belonged to. Then Iain walked over and took it away. It happened as . simply as that. ‘Iain didn’t . blame me at all. I was very disappointed and upset by how they cleverly . edited the show and as a result I have people saying all sorts of nasty . things about me.’ What happened to Iain's baked Alaska and is the BBC to blame for its destruction? Others pointed out that Wednesday’s episode had been . filmed in a tent in the May heatwave. Fellow competitor Jordan Cox, 33, . said some freezers had not worked properly in the heat and added: ‘Poor . Diana is a scapegoat for BBC.’ The BBC has received at least 811 complaints about the episode, and the regulator Ofcom received another 13 - a baker's dozen. Twelve of the complaints to Ofcom were raising concerns about the apparent sabotage of the bearded baker's dessert, the regulator said. But today the regulator confirmed it will not investigate further, saying: 'Having assessed viewers’ complaints received to date, they do not raise issues warranting further investigation under Ofcom’s rules.' A spokesman added that if further complaints are raised they will be addressed. Judge Mary Berry, 79, said his behaviour was 'unacceptable' and refused to put him through to the next round . The Irish construction engineer won the sympathy of many who felt he had been the victim of an underhand plot by his rivals . How the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday's scandal . Even . Mr Watters said: ‘I don’t hold Diana responsible in any way. There are . no grudges, we are still friends and keep in contact regularly.’ However, he disputed the claim that the dessert was out of the freezer . for only 40 seconds or so, saying it must have been longer because . otherwise it would not have melted so much. A . BBC spokesman said: ‘Diana removing Iain’s ice cream from the freezer . for less than a minute was in no way responsible for Iain’s departure.’
Great British Bake Off contestant Diana Beard has her sense of smell and taste in a freak accident. it appear as though it was a deliberate act of later emerged that she never returned to the show when bearded competitor Iain Watters binned his Baked Alaska after it collapsed . Grey-haired Mrs left the dessert out of . the freezer for several it out of the freezer. Diana Beard says the knives have been out for her and she sobbed after Paul Hollywood, then stormed off set. That . led more than 550 complaints to the BBC. She, . episode had been . filmed in a tent in the May Ofcom received another 13 - a baker's dozen. today the regulator confirmed it will not Iain’s departure.’