On the Great Canadian Baking Show, tensions are high under that iconic white tent. From runny pie fillings to toppling cakes and a constant race against the clock, the bakers are always in need of some comedic relief. That’s where Alan Shane Lewis comes in.
“I think my main job, mentally, is just always to make sure the bakers are comfortable,” he says. The comedian has been co-hosting the show since the fourth season with Anna Pornel. “And finding that common ground, sometimes if it’s your first time on TV, you kind of forget to bring out that energy for yourself. So it’s always like a fun little game to find what certain people’s quirks are.”
But by far, as those tuning into season eight on Oct. 6 will see, Lewis’s main source of comedy in the tent is puns. “We get to do a lot of puns, they’re so fun. I’ve ruined my brain making as many puns as possible,” he says. “But sometimes you have to remember to switch that off when you’re doing other types of comedy.”
For Lewis, that includes doing standup — he’s performed at the Just for Laughs Festival, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Toronto Sketchfest and headlined Canada’s oldest comedy club, Yuk Yuk’s — writing for CBC’s award-winning satirical comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, sketch comedy as a member of the Untitled Black Sketch Project and the occasional acting role.
FAST FACTS
Name: Alan Shane Lewis
High school: St. Elizabeth High School
Fave restaurant: DaiLo
Fave memory: Dancing at Sneaky Dee’s
Fave local comedian: Adam Christie
Before he became the face of the most feel-good show on Canadian television, Lewis was a member of The Second City Touring Company, joining the ranks of Canadian comics who got their start on that revered stage.
“My sisters actually bought me these vouchers for Christmas one year for [Second City] classes, and I did those early in my career. So going back later on to actually be a part of it, going on that stage and getting to participate — it was a dream come true,” he says.
Growing up in Thornhill with two older sisters, Lewis says he was always trying to get attention by making people laugh. “I was always trying to be the funniest one in the room,” he says. “Especially in school. I was kind of a class clown and liked to do a lot of pratfalls and physical comedy stuff.”
But it wasn’t until his social media presence caught the eye of a production company that he made his way into sketch comedy. One day, one of the members suggested he try standup.
“It was a scary, scary day,” he says. “And I fell in love with it ever since.”
He got serious about comedy after a trip to Los Angeles, where he performed in a show and watched plenty of comedy, put everything “into focus” for him. “I moved downtown with other comics, which had its pluses and minuses. It’s got great pluses at the beginning of your career, because it motivates you to go out and constantly be in the comedy scene, meeting people and making connections,” he says. “But it was also bad, because they were comics, and they’re not the cleanliest of people!”
It was when Lewis was signed with Absolute Comedy that he felt like his hard work was finally paying off. “It was amazing to be in a place where I was doing just comedy and nothing else,” he says.
And getting the call to host the Great Canadian Baking Show was a major career highlight for him too — the show has amassed a dedicated following eight seasons in and has received 22 Canadian Screen Awards nominations, three of which were for Lewis and Pornel in the best host or presenter category.
The hosting gig has only gotten easier with time: “I think as we do this thing more and more, we feel more relaxed and feel more in a space where we can express ourselves more,” he says.
And of course, the steady stream of sweets always helps. “I’m a big scraps person,” he says of the plethora of cakes, pies, cookies and more left over after each bake. “I’m always just like, yup, I’m there! I want to try it all!”