Rebecca Severs expressed her gratitude after people backed her decision not to give an unidentified "well-known" celebrity - later revealed to be ex-Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley - free cake in exchange for promotion on social media and in OK! magazine.

Tyldesley posted an Instagram story claiming she had "no idea" emails were being sent requesting a cake and 100 cupcakes for her birthday.

The 39-year-old actress branded the row "utterly bizarre" and referred to it as "cakegate", before having a dig at Ms Severs, saying: "I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving."

However social media users appear to have sided with the bakery owner.

Ms Severs, who runs the Three Little Birds bakery in Keighley, West Yorkshire, said on her Instagram stories that she didn't have time to reply to all the "amazing" messages one by one, adding: "Please know that knowing how much solidarity is out there for small business is incredible - and every message of support means a lot!"

She wrote: "We are getting loads of lovely messages from people who want to support us by buying cakes but live far away.

"That's awesome - please just pass on your custom to your nearest small businesses!"

"Not everyone is as mouthy as me but we all need to pay the rent," she urged her followers.

Ms Severs also shared a post with a "folklore" cake design for her daughter, Isla, inspired by singer Taylor Swift, which appeared to make light of the social media drama.

"We might actually love Taylor Swift so much that she'd get a free cake," the caption said.

One person responded that the Shake It Off star would "probably pay for her cake given the bonuses she just gave her crew" - amid reports she handed more than $55m (about £43m) to performers and crew working on her Eras tour.

Another follower said: "No free cakes, let them ALL pay!"

On other posts, dozens of people said they were now following the bakery after reading widespread media coverage of the cakegate row.

One person commented: "I saw your story in the news and I had to come on [and] follow you, well done for sticking up for yourself and saying no."

Another added: "So many of us who aren't anywhere near being geographically close to you are in full support of you!

"Good luck in everything you do, the hard work you've put in really shows and each cake is a masterpiece!"

The social media backlash against Tyldesley happened after Ms Severs shared her response to an email from an events agency asking for cake in exchange for promotion online.

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The bakery owner wrote: "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.

"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."

Tyldesley insisted she was not working with OK! magazine and named the agency as NVRLND, describing it as an "amazing" company.

She said they had been "completely misrepresented in this matter."

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