0:00:02 > 0:00:04Taking part in the Great British Bake Off is the dream
0:00:04 > 0:00:07of thousands of home bakers across the country.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12Filling in the application form was that best thing that I ever did.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Now we'll hear from those
0:00:14 > 0:00:16whose skills got them to the Bake Off tent...
0:00:17 > 0:00:19The adrenaline was amazing.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22..what it feels like to bake in a pressurised environment...
0:00:22 > 0:00:29At home, I have never baked anything and thought about time, ever.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30..coping with the tough challenges...
0:00:30 > 0:00:34The technical bakes, for me, were treacherous.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38..how they dealt with the stress of baking for Mary Berry...
0:00:38 > 0:00:41She gives you that look that cuts right through you.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45..how they survived being judged by Paul Hollywood...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47He said to one person something they made was disgusting.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49It's disgusting!
0:00:49 > 0:00:53And that, I mean, I don't know where you go from there!
0:00:53 > 0:00:54..and how they recovered...
0:00:54 > 0:00:58If you think you're fantastic, you are destined for a fall.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00..from baking disasters.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I literally did not know what to do, I was going to just walk out.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07They will also reveal what has happened since the Bake Off.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Holly Bell, in the BBC Radio Leicester radio car.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14It is truly unbelievable.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17I wake up in the night and think, "Is it real or did I dream it?"
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Settle in...
0:01:18 > 0:01:20On your marks, get set...
0:01:20 > 0:01:22..for a special edition...
0:01:22 > 0:01:24It never had long enough to kind of go wrong for me.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26..of the Great British Bake Off...
0:01:26 > 0:01:28I did not want my Bake Off time to end.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30..Revisited.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34And I cried. Over macaroons. I cried over macaroons.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02A year ago, 12 home bakers from all over Britain
0:02:02 > 0:02:04made a simple but life-changing decision.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10I watched the first series in a state of permanent outrage, really,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12that nobody had told me it was on.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I said to my husband, "Why hasn't anybody told me this was on?!"
0:02:15 > 0:02:17For me, it always, it sounds bizarre,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20but it always felt like a bit of an accident.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23In that I entered
0:02:23 > 0:02:24for a bit of fun.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26I turned 40 a couple of years ago.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29And I said to myself, I want to make sure I'm doing lots of new things
0:02:29 > 0:02:31and experiencing lots of different things.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36So I saw the Bake Off advertised and I thought, "Sod it, let's do it!"
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Am I allowed to say "Sod it"?!
0:02:39 > 0:02:43But while some made the decision alone...
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I was reading Good Food magazine and there was an article and it said,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49"We are looking for bakers."
0:02:49 > 0:02:51So I said, "I am going for this!"
0:02:51 > 0:02:53..for others it required that crucial ingredient
0:02:53 > 0:02:56in all home baking - family.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59My family were constantly telling me I should enter something.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01"You're really good, you should go on this."
0:03:01 > 0:03:04And then I watched the first series of the Bake Off,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and it was the first time I thought, that is something that I could do.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09My wife basically said,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12"I want to put you forward for this, you should do it."
0:03:12 > 0:03:16I suppose when I hit 31, I reached a bit of a stage in my life
0:03:16 > 0:03:18where every opportunity that comes my way,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22I am kind of just going to go for it to see where it takes me.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I phoned my youngest daughter and said,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28"Since I'm not working full time how about me entering the competition?"
0:03:28 > 0:03:31And she said, "Why not? We love your cakes."
0:03:31 > 0:03:34And I thought, in my simple way,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38that would be all it was, really, making a few cakes!
0:03:38 > 0:03:41In July 2010, my eldest son
0:03:41 > 0:03:44was diagnosed with leukaemia.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I was working as a sales manager and had to give up full-time work.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And I think my wife wanted me out of the house
0:03:49 > 0:03:53so she got an application form for the Bake Off.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56She thrust in my face and said, "I think you should do this."
0:03:56 > 0:04:013,500 people had exactly the same idea.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02"Are you sure?
0:04:02 > 0:04:06"Is it really that many people we have had to fight our way through?!"
0:04:06 > 0:04:10There were so many people applying, I never dreamt it would lead on
0:04:10 > 0:04:11to actually going through.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Then I got through to the final 12, which, obviously,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16I was totally thrilled with.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19And before I knew it, there I was.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It is funny being back on the location without filming,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26having had a decent night's sleep.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28That particularly brings it back.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32We used to line up right there against the bridge,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37waiting to do our big walk into the marquee.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Sometimes when we got it wrong, usually for laughing, in my case,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42we had to do it over and over again.
0:04:42 > 0:04:43Even then it was still stressful!
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Just walking across earlier was quite strange,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48not having an apron on, walking in line
0:04:48 > 0:04:51with Mary-Anne or Janet stood next to me!
0:04:51 > 0:04:54It just served to hype up those nerves a bit more.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57You could see the marquee ahead of you then you had to go
0:04:57 > 0:04:59back across and back across.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01This prize at the end.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Then when you got in your nerves were in shreds.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11So, the first day, got in and saw the actual competition I had,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15and thought, "Damn!"
0:05:15 > 0:05:20Some people came with some fairly startling array of equipment.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Little paint pots and things.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23Other people turned up
0:05:23 > 0:05:26with just enough clothes to get through the day.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28The adrenaline, though, was amazing!
0:05:28 > 0:05:32For the first time - you will hear this a lot over the next few days -
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- on your marks, get set...- Bake!
0:05:37 > 0:05:41It did not take long for Britain's 12 best home bakers to realise...
0:05:41 > 0:05:43It won't help me, panicking!
0:05:43 > 0:05:45..they were no longer at home.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I don't really remember getting stressed.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Look at that! Magnificent!
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- Probably did! - Oh, hang on, hang on!
0:05:51 > 0:05:54My kitchen at home is where I go to relax.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Pastry can be a cruel mistress if you don't treat her well!
0:05:56 > 0:06:00It is a bit of me time. But when you are doing it in a competition,
0:06:00 > 0:06:01you have got the other bakers...
0:06:01 > 0:06:05You feel like you have got to double-check absolutely everything.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09I want every single roll to be the exact same shape.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12It can become really... can I say...anal?
0:06:12 > 0:06:14So, I am weighing out the dough.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18You kind of go from this activity which is calm and relaxing
0:06:18 > 0:06:20to this adrenaline rush.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Not wanting to stress anyone out remotely
0:06:22 > 0:06:25but you do have ten minutes left, bakers.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30At home, I have never baked anything and thought about time, ever.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34You're like, panic, panic, running around. But I really enjoyed it.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39I sat there before, thinking, I can't remember - four, five hours?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Thinking, "There is no way I need four or five hours!"
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And then the time goes like that.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46And I was right up against it at the end.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52I used to bake muffins at home, really early,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56and bring them in, because it just... I needed to bake something.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59For just baking, rather than for competition.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Just to prove to myself that,
0:07:01 > 0:07:02"Come on, you can do this.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05"It's just what you do every day, basically."
0:07:06 > 0:07:10But even in the first round of the competition...
0:07:10 > 0:07:11I think it will be OK.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16..some of the home bakers attempted cakes that were far from everyday.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18We received this thing that said,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21"You must produce a three-tiered celebration cake."
0:07:21 > 0:07:23And I looked at that and I thought,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25"Right, I know what I'm going to do for this,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28"and it is going to be a 'Wow!' cake."
0:07:28 > 0:07:32With Ben, he talked a lot about his bakes before the actual competition.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34That was really unnerving.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38I remember seeing a photo of Ben's cake that he had on his phone
0:07:38 > 0:07:39from when he had been practising.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44He gave us a preview of what he was going to make. We were like, "Whoa!"
0:07:44 > 0:07:50I had in my head that it was for a 15 or 16-year-old girl for her birthday.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55And he wheeled in a tool chest on what looked like a hostess trolley.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01And it was laden with airbrushes and fine cake-decorating equipment.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04That was quite unsettling.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08All I had got was some training kit so I did not have to go to the gym!
0:08:10 > 0:08:12I am trying to get it on and done.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15You're the make-up artist to all the sponge cakes.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18When they have an imperfection they always call for you!
0:08:18 > 0:08:21This tower of a cake, and airbrushing, icing,
0:08:21 > 0:08:26looking over, thinking, "Oh, my God, I am so going out, compared to that!"
0:08:26 > 0:08:28But then...
0:08:28 > 0:08:29If it is too pretty to eat,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33then that is not a successful bake, I don't think.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35The sponge is a little bit bland.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37I think it is slightly overdone as well.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I think a bit more work on the sponge and a little less time on the finish.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Yes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46And in hindsight, that was totally wrong, because if I wanted to really
0:08:46 > 0:08:50hit the judges, it would have been something they would have wanted.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52But that would not have been me.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Having your home baking poked, prodded,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00and chewed over by professional judges for the first time...
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- They have lost some of their shape. - ..proved sensitive for everyone.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06When you bake at home there is no stress.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Because you are baking for people who love you.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13It is very rare that I get feedback other than, "It's yummy, Mummy!"
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Unless I have done something really bad!
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Appearance wise, too simple.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I got quite tearful with some of the negative feedback I got.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Because I was just so exhausted.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26And all the nervous energy building up, so when somebody said
0:09:26 > 0:09:30something negative, you really did feel like bursting into tears.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Which you did!
0:09:32 > 0:09:33Which I did!
0:09:33 > 0:09:36If I spoke to my husband now he would probably say,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40"Look, you are there, you're good at this, you know you are,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43"you just need to forget about what he said, the comments,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45"just focus on what you need to do."
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It is your efforts, your own work, your own time, love, and care
0:09:49 > 0:09:51that has gone into making something,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and for a lot of others, learning from a parent or relative,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56sometimes they have passed away,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58it has got a strong emotional connection to them.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01That's why a lot of people tend to get emotional about baking.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- I don't like it.- I don't like it.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06When the first programme aired, all my neighbours came round
0:10:06 > 0:10:09to the house and I had whatever was on the programme baked
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and we brought it out as it was shown on the TV.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16The icing on it, it needs work, it needs to be smoother.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20It was like 4D-TV, if you like, and they absolutely loved them.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I nailed the frosting.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25They had to, they were in my house eating the food.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- It's sad, it's a bit of a disaster, really.- Yes, I'm afraid so.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32If you make something at home and it is slightly imperfect,
0:10:32 > 0:10:33it doesn't matter.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36But when it's for a competition, of course it really matters
0:10:36 > 0:10:38when someone's going to press it hard and say,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40"It's a little bit doughy on the bottom
0:10:40 > 0:10:43"and it hasn't risen quite as much as it should have done."
0:10:43 > 0:10:48The flavour is not very distinctive. The lemon icing needs more lemon.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It wasn't a good start. I thought my fate was sealed already.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54But Janet needn't have worried.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58The person who will not be joining us next week is Keith.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Commiserations, Keith.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03He had a really bish-bash-bosh approach to baking.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05If this thing is right, it says they're baked.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08A really kind of earnest approach to baking.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10I'm not used to all this origami effort, I tell you that much.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12If it works, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Bung it all together. Bang.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19He wasn't heartbroken, going out in the first round.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Talking to Keith in between filming...
0:11:22 > 0:11:24- You winning?- I hope so.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27..he was more concerned about getting back for the Arsenal match.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Bingo-jingo.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35The first home baker to leave the Bake Off tent went back to just that -
0:11:35 > 0:11:36home baking.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39It's weird when you go to the chemist to get something
0:11:39 > 0:11:42for your boy and they are like, "I saw you on TV recently, didn't I?"
0:11:42 > 0:11:45But for others, like since entering
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and then leaving the Bake Off has seen a few changes.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56When 19-year-old Jason White applied to take part in the Bake Off,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58he was a civil engineering student.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03He is still going to college but he is no longer studying.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05You don't know what I'm making today?
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Chocolate orange mini tarts.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11So is going to be chocolate pastry with an orange creme patisserie.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I just say the English pastry cream. Because I always get wrong.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15And then segmented oranges on top.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Jason's baking expertise has now been passed on to students
0:12:19 > 0:12:22studying catering in West London.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24I didn't really envisage myself doing this.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I always enjoy working with people who are interactive
0:12:27 > 0:12:31and young people. Teaching. So that's why it's fun.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35But I didn't think that after the Bake Off I would be here doing demos here as well.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38So the pressure is on. I'm really happy I'm doing it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Smell the chocolateyness.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I wasn't interested in bakery at all but when Jason came,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46he made me want to bake as well.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48He gets you motivated, definitely.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51When you see someone your age doing that, you motivate yourself to do better.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Have you guys made pastry cream before?
0:12:54 > 0:12:57- Yes.- So you guys could tell me what to do then.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Doing this now feels very natural to me. It really does. It's different.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Something to still get used to and adjust to
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and what I do is not the same thing day in and day out.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15But in terms of being able to do food and do something I love and enjoy it is a great feeling.
0:13:15 > 0:13:22We have some chocolate orange tartlets, guys. There we are.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28He is like an inspiration to me because I love baking.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34I have baked all my life so I would like to be like him one day.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38As Jason begins to inspire the next generation of home bakers,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42during the Bake Off for him and all his fellow contestants,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46inspiration had a household name.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48They look like they mean business today.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Mary Berry is dressed as a cowgirl. I think that means business.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55She's got her hand in the wrong pocket, though. It should be in the front.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58If you bake, you tend to know that
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Mary Berry is the be all and end all of traditional baking.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05I've always known about Mary, probably since when I was at school.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09I did Home Economics and so Mary has always been a massive influence.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11You feel you know them
0:14:11 > 0:14:13because they are on the telly, in your cookbooks.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17But, to meet them, that is the grand high priestess of baking.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21My main motivation was to have Mary Berry taste my cooking.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23I mean, how many people can say that?
0:14:23 > 0:14:24I think it is absolutely lovely
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and the pure alcohol is doing me a lot of good.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33I think I described Mary Berry to a friend recently as a food ninja.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36She knows everything, she sees everything
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and she appears from nowhere because she is so small compared to me.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I thunder around in the marquee doing my baking
0:14:42 > 0:14:45but Mary would just appear, look at something,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48comment and then disappear again. It was terrifying.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52She did used to get told off quite a bit for trying to help us.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55She would come around and whisper, "Try doing it this way,"
0:14:55 > 0:14:57and get told, "Mary, stop it!"
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- You obviously want to make Mary proud.- Like your mum, in a way.- Yes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- You want her to be proud of you for that.- To not be disappointed.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Mary's disappointment is the worst thing.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Like a bucket of cold water.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Mary is absolutely lovely.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17It feels like I'm cooking for my granny and she is trying to find compliments.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20The middle is scrummy.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21It feels like she'd never try to find fault.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25This Victoria sponge is an absolute classic.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28When Mary said my Victoria sponge was one of the finest
0:15:28 > 0:15:31she had ever tasted, it was just one of those moments
0:15:31 > 0:15:33that you'll never forget in your life.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35It is one of the best that I have tasted
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and it's rather nice to have it that size.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41To have Mary look at your quiche, turn it over...
0:15:41 > 0:15:46What we haven't done is turned it upside-down to see how the bottom is.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50..and say, "No soggy bottom." And I remember Mary's words clearly. She said...
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Excellent. Not good - excellent. - Relief!- That's perfect.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57I think I will die a happy man with those words ringing in my ears.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Whatever we put in front of her,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02she found something nice to say to begin with.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04She wasn't all sweetness and light.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06It's just not working, that lavender, is it?
0:16:06 > 0:16:07These are not good enough.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11She gives you that look and it cuts right through you.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14It's very doughy. It is sticking to the roof of my mouth.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18She could see the flaws and she wasn't prepared to say it was brilliant when it wasn't.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22- It needed a little more cooking. - Nightmare. I'm sorry about that.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27When Mary gives me a criticism, to be honest, it is a bigger criticism.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29This one is very over-baked.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32That's why it wasn't at the front.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34So you basically tried to hide that one.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Yeah, that was just being covered up a bit.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38This is Miss Marple you're dealing with here.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43If she says something bad, you're like, "Damn, I let her down!"
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Oh dear, you're capable of such great things, you know.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Whereas Paul would say, "I don't like it. That's my final word,"
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Mary would be more sort of, "I'm not keen on it but, if you did this, it would be fantastic."
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- Did you add baking powder to these? - I did.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Sometimes if you use too much baking powder it rises up
0:16:59 > 0:17:02and then drops down again.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Mary was the voice of fairness.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08She really understood the 12 of us that were in the thing
0:17:08 > 0:17:10in the marquee were amateurs.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15It doesn't tempt me to eat it. But once I get going, it's jolly good.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Therefore we were going to make some mistakes.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Things were going to go wrong and things were going to happen.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24But if you're baking at home,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26the occasional mistake is easily glossed over.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Let's not go there.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31The pressure in the Bake Off tent, however...
0:17:31 > 0:17:32You never know what's going to happen.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34..can make the odd mishap...
0:17:34 > 0:17:35Oh, no!
0:17:35 > 0:17:37..feel like a monumental disaster.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Oh, my God, I've done something wrong.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44No-one was immune.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I opened the proving drawer to have a look and see how it was doing...
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I don't know if it is supposed to look like that.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55..and the bread just flopped.
0:17:58 > 0:18:04Oops! I have one macaroon or six long macaroons.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06It has to be mind over matter and then just carry on.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11You felt sorry for them but it made you feel like it could happen to any of you.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13It has just not gone right today.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- If somebody has a disaster, you're like, yes!- Oh, no! Oh, gosh!
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Ian! Ian-Ian!
0:18:20 > 0:18:23I managed to cut the end off my finger.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27- It's happened again, hasn't it? - It's just flopped and dripped and...
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Sad day.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33The whole thing has collapsed. I'm really disappointed.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36I don't think people want to watch perfection all the time.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I think they like the humanity of a mistake.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Don't worry.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45These things are sent to try us.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48If you think you're fantastic, you're destined for a fall, aren't you?
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Whereas if you think you are just OK,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54you're pleased when things just go right.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55It is an easier way to be.
0:18:55 > 0:19:02Pesto-quiche-gate was week two. It wasn't my finest hour.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07That's a big swamp of quiche.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12Paul and Mary hated it. There's no other way to describe how they felt about it.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17- I'm afraid I'm not mad about it.- It doesn't work for me. It is too much.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19It's too much on a quiche.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20It has been suggested to me by Ian
0:19:20 > 0:19:23that I should write a book - 1001 Ways With Pesto.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25He is quite naughty.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30You weren't pleased but it kind of made you feel like you weren't the only one.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36One of the most talked about disasters in the Bake Off
0:19:36 > 0:19:38occurred earlier than anyone expected.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Imagine it's the first week of the Bake Off,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43I haven't been in the marquee before and don't know
0:19:43 > 0:19:45any of the other people, so everybody's trying to impress.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47I think it's going to be OK.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51This is the week that everyone's just trying to get through and do all right and then...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53My hands are shaking.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I think I was trying to build my tiers.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I was right at the back, he was right at the front, but I heard it.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05HE GASPS >
0:20:05 > 0:20:10At the point that it fell, I could see Rob with his head in his hands.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I think we all heard what he said, which was not for broadcast.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14BLEEP.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17When it's just sat there on the floor,
0:20:17 > 0:20:23just in a puddle of cake, I literally did not know what to do.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I was going to just walk out.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Try and rescue one of those layers...
0:20:28 > 0:20:31And then Paul said, "You can scoop that up. That bit's not touched the floor.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32"Scoop it up, put it on, do it",
0:20:32 > 0:20:34and walked off, and I was like, "Yeah".
0:20:34 > 0:20:38That cake was the only thing that I ate that anyone baked
0:20:38 > 0:20:41over that weekend, and it was absolutely lovely.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43There was no secret Tim Henman-style air-punching,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46like "Yes, that's one person out of the way", because he worked so hard.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I thought "Heavens above, that could have been me".
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Poor Rob.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Did get him some airtime, though, so I must remember that one.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56If I ever do it again, I've got to drop a cake.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59There was one baker, however,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03who managed to save the worst until last.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Ooh...
0:21:11 > 0:21:13SHE GASPS
0:21:13 > 0:21:1545-year-old housewife Mary-Anne Boermans
0:21:15 > 0:21:20over-decorated her signature mille-feuille...
0:21:20 > 0:21:23The great piping disaster of 2011.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25No, it's all going!
0:21:25 > 0:21:28..which then caused her to freeze in panic,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30before having to pipe the word "Sacher"
0:21:30 > 0:21:34on her Sachertorte during the final technical challenge.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I'm feeling positively nauseous.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41All you need to do is write six letters on a piece of cake.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42- You can do it.- Yes.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45What you don't want to do is have a moment where you misspell.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47My daughter's called Sacha.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Or you could just misspell it
0:21:49 > 0:21:53and say it's an ode. It's an ode to your daughter.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57I think it's one of those things, Mary-Anne, where you just do it.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I'm going to stand back and let you go for it.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09SHE GASPS
0:22:12 > 0:22:15You wrote Sacha!
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- That's your fault! - It's not my fault.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25'Maybe if I hadn't written my daughter's name
0:22:25 > 0:22:27'instead of Sacher on the Sachertorte',
0:22:27 > 0:22:28maybe I'd have won.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32But I thought that was hilarious, in the final,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34to do something like that, especially
0:22:34 > 0:22:37when Sue said just beforehand, "Don't make a spelling mistake".
0:22:37 > 0:22:42I think we have a problem with the spelling on that one, don't we?
0:22:42 > 0:22:46- It's actually written in Austrian. - Oh, well, that explains it.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48What a klutz. Anyway.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50After the Bake Off,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53it was Mary-Anne's more successful bakes
0:22:53 > 0:22:55that caught the attention of the owner
0:22:55 > 0:22:57of a historic tea room in Cardiff.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59David, what I've got here for you to try
0:22:59 > 0:23:05is some suggestions for afternoon tea that might be a little bit different
0:23:05 > 0:23:06and out of the ordinary.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10David and I met over Twitter, when he got in touch
0:23:10 > 0:23:14and said what a fan he was of the Bake Off programme.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I noticed from his blog that he had the aspiration
0:23:16 > 0:23:18of opening a tea room in Cardiff.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20So we got chatting and enthusing about baking
0:23:20 > 0:23:24and recipes, and I've become kind of a consultant to him,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27especially with the old-fashioned recipes,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31trying to resurrect them and bring them into the 21st century.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35This is a puff pastry case, with lemon cheesecake filling.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41- These date from the Tudor times, allegedly.- They are excellent.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42'The thing about Mary-Anne'
0:23:42 > 0:23:44is her passion for baking,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and her passion for history,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51and the tradition of baking and the tradition of recipes.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55That was inspirational. It was great to have that in my tea room. It's brilliant.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00With a Bake Off finalist recreating his menu,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04David has asked Mary-Anne and her daughter Sacha to attend
0:24:04 > 0:24:06the tea room's grand reopening.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I'm very honoured to be asked to be here today.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Without further ado, let's get on with the cake. Good luck,
0:24:14 > 0:24:15and happy dunking.
0:24:15 > 0:24:16APPLAUSE
0:24:16 > 0:24:22I've really enjoyed working alongside David
0:24:22 > 0:24:24and watching his project move along,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26and all the milestones that he's achieved,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30and to see it come to fruition.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32The Bake Off certainly has given me opportunities
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I wouldn't have had normally. It's also given me the confidence,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38having had feedback from Paul and Mary about the quality
0:24:38 > 0:24:41of the things that I bake, to branch out
0:24:41 > 0:24:44with these recipes that I'm going to resurrect
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and present and hopefully encourage other people
0:24:47 > 0:24:48to start baking them again.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Whatever challenges the bakers have faced since the Bake Off,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59they've had excellent training,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02facing one of life's most ominous situations during it...
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Now, be afraid, be very afraid.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Hang on. 3 o'clock, mate.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Look as if you know what you're doing. You do know what you're doing.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13..baking for Paul Hollywood.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21I would probably describe Paul as, um...
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Oh...
0:25:23 > 0:25:27He's a silver fox. He hates that. Let's call him the silver fox.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30You could almost look for a camera if you cut corners.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33You think, "No, Paul wouldn't do that".
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Someone's not been following my recipe.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39With over 30 years of baking experience...
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Wow, that is amazing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44..judgments ranged from the swift and merciless...
0:25:44 > 0:25:46It's a mess. I don't like it.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Stodgy. Claggy.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52- Very dry. What was in this pastry again?- Just straightforward pastry.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Which you burnt.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57..to forensically detailed deconstructions.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Never has pastry been so scrutinised.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- Coriander's not coming through. - It's more the smell you get from the coriander.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I won't eat a loaf if it smells nice. I expect to taste it as well.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I wouldn't describe Paul as cuddly.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11- It's sadly lacking in flavour.- OK.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14'He's got steely blue eyes that stare at you,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17'and it is really scary and daunting.'
0:26:17 > 0:26:21He doesn't pull his punches. If he doesn't like it, he's going to say he doesn't like it.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24He said to one person that something they made was disgusting.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26It's disgusting.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29And that, I mean, I don't know where you go from there.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31The interior of that is revolting.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34And some things, he liked, and some things he didn't like,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36and that's allowed.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Is this the way you wanted them to look?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42As long as you don't take it too personally, because it is very direct.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Just take it with a pinch of salt. Not too much salt.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- You've got too much salt in there. - Oh.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51I did have a strange relationship with Paul.
0:26:51 > 0:26:57From the feedback that I got, he was harsh on me and it was fine.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02- I could have dropped that in from a 5ft height and ended up with that finish. Must try harder.- Noted.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06But then from watching the series, he said a lot of things,
0:27:06 > 0:27:07kind of, behind my back.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I often feel like a schoolteacher with Rob.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12He had two hours. Everybody else managed to do it. Just get it done.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Stop messing around and get it in the oven.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18He's, you know, my dad, who is making me strive more.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19I'm disappointed.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23If he finds something he can say bad about it, he will, because it will make me better.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I think Paul and myself,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28as personalities, would clash quite a lot.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- It looks a mess.- Really?- Yeah.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34And it came across that obviously, when I believed in something, I would disagree.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Overwhelmed totally by the rosemary.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Really? Because I like the rosemary flavour.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42- Then don't put raisins and walnut in, because they're pointless.- OK.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47But not everyone cowered behind their ovens.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I've met far scarier people in the air force than Paul Hollywood.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53For some, a touch of Hollywood...
0:27:53 > 0:27:56- Get back.- ..was almost a pleasure.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01- He may hate me for saying this. He's an absolute pussycat.- Nice flavours.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Delicious. Absolutely spot-on.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06I can't fault it, really.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10It was quite daring, actually. As long as he gets that balance right,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12he could create something magical.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16There's definitely something about him that makes you pay attention,
0:28:16 > 0:28:17because he's got so much experience.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22The icing on it needs work. It needs to be smoother. It needs to be set.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Having somebody stood there and saying "If you just change this..."
0:28:25 > 0:28:30Think about your flavour combinations. Guinness, use in one. Chocolate, use in another.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Chocolate and Guinness, you're on a hiding to nothing.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36I've taken those things and gone away and changed how I bake,
0:28:36 > 0:28:37and I've got good results.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39So it's been beneficial to meet someone like him,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42but he's certainly not the scariest person I've ever met.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Even if you weren't scared of Paul Hollywood...
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Coming up now is possibly the moment that you've been dreading.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51..every round of the Bake Off featured a challenge
0:28:51 > 0:28:54that terrified everyone.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57The technical bake is a controlled test
0:28:57 > 0:28:59of both your intuition and your ability.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The technical bakes, for me, were treacherous.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Everybody was nervous beforehand, because you didn't have a clue. It could have been absolutely anything.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10You're trying to second-guess from what you can see on your counter.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13You can't possibly prepare for it.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16You're almost willing your presenters to hurry up,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19because you just want to open that drawer and find that piece of paper.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22What's the recipe? What am I going to make?
0:29:22 > 0:29:23It's a Battenberg cake.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Not just any old Battenberg cake,
0:29:25 > 0:29:30but a coffee and walnut Battenberg cake.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34As soon as you knew what it was,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38your mind goes through this process of, "Where have I seen that before?"
0:29:38 > 0:29:42I know what it is, because Dot in EastEnders makes them for Jim.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44The only place that I could ever remember
0:29:44 > 0:29:46at that particular moment in time
0:29:46 > 0:29:49having seen Battenberg was on EastEnders.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50And Dot Cotton came into my head,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52so you have all of these visions in your mind of,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55"What does it look like when Dot Cotton made it for Jim?",
0:29:55 > 0:29:56which is completely ridiculous.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00With only a very basic recipe to guide them...
0:30:00 > 0:30:03It looks all right, but God, who knows?
0:30:03 > 0:30:04There was just one way the bakers could
0:30:04 > 0:30:08- check they were headed in the right direction?- Let me see yours.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Yeah, some challenges, I did sort of look around, if I wasn't too sure
0:30:12 > 0:30:15what I was doing, but it's a bit hard, because one minute you've
0:30:15 > 0:30:18got a lot of time, and two, you're not sure, you might copy someone.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Are they doing it the correct way?
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Moment of truth. I had no expertise, but I knew I'd cope,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24because at the end of the day,
0:30:24 > 0:30:27no-one's going to die if I get wrong.
0:30:27 > 0:30:28Hopefully.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33During one particular Technical Challenge...
0:30:33 > 0:30:36We're looking for the perfect focaccia, and you've got three
0:30:36 > 0:30:39and a half hours in which to bake it.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42..trying to copy someone else proved a little pointless.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45The focaccia was very difficult, because I don't think anyone,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and I certainly hadn't made it before,
0:30:48 > 0:30:50and it was an unbelievably wet mixture.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53It was like a liquid cement, or something.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57- I've got no idea whether I'm getting it right.- Strange.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00- It is weird, isn't it?- Oh, gosh.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03The ratios on the recipe of water to flour were different
0:31:03 > 0:31:05to any I'd ever made before. There was a lot more water.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08- Will this make bread?- You've got to have faith in the recipe.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11You're kind of like, I've got to trust the recipe.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13This guy knows what he's talking about."
0:31:13 > 0:31:18For some reason, which will probably never be known to me,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22I decided to deviate from Paul Hollywood's recipe.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27- I've kind of done that. - Oh, so you are way...
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Have you got any more water to add?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I've got a bit there, but the dough was wetter than I would have liked.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35To this day, cannot tell you what I was thinking.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37I thought, perhaps I could add a bit more flour,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39because sometimes the ratios aren't strict.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42Could you actually, Could you tip some flour in?
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- Are you sure you should be adding more?- I've got to try and salvage what I can.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48So, I added a bit more flour, thinking it would be fine,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51because the mixture was really wet and sloppy and gloopy,
0:31:51 > 0:31:52but apparently that was wrong.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Now this...
0:31:54 > 0:31:57I'll just go with it, and see what happens.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01I didn't make Paul's focaccia recipe the way that he intended.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04I decided that I knew better, never having made focaccia before,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I thought, I'll just wade in and change this recipe.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09It's too wet, I'm going to throw some more flour in.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10Sorry, can I just add a bit of flour?
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Sorry, love. Yeah, yeah. Sorry.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16I think I did probably add a bit to much flour.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Which I think was the temptation most of us had really.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23I didn't trust the master baker's recipe, I think.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Someone's thought, "Paul doesn't know what he's doing.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28"He's made a mistake here!" I don't think I'll add all the water!
0:32:28 > 0:32:32I've practised at that damn focaccia that threw me out,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35and I've worked my way through Paul's books, and actually
0:32:35 > 0:32:38I think I've reached the standard that even Paul would be proud of.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Having survived all eight Technical Challenges,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46one home baker has now traded her apron for a career where
0:32:46 > 0:32:49being able to deal with the unexpected is crucial.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Karl Cooper here in the studio.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Holly Bell in the BBC Radio Leicester radio car.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58This is a programme called - Clueless.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Holly Bell, in the radio car, whereabouts are you now?
0:33:01 > 0:33:04It's very pretty, lots of fields at the moment,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07so, Dale, I'm sure you know where you're going, don't you?
0:33:07 > 0:33:10I never thought for a second that baking
0:33:10 > 0:33:14would lead to radio presenting. I'm really glad it has.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16And I did want to change my life, I guess,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19I wanted to do something different for a living,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22and I've certainly fulfilled that brief, and I'm loving it.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26It's great fun. The people in radio are fantastic.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28So, yeah, I feel very blessed.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29OK, let's go and find some people.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32My first encounter with Holly was hearing about her
0:33:32 > 0:33:35involvement with the Great British Bake Off,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38knowing that by nature of that, she was
0:33:38 > 0:33:40immediately becoming a local celebrity.
0:33:40 > 0:33:41So, she kept appearing on air,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44in features about her progress in the show.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47And we knew, as soon as we heard her, that there
0:33:47 > 0:33:50was something quite special about her delivery.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52You know, what you hear is exactly what you get.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53She's actually a natural.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55'Now, Holly, look, it's 9:57 now.'
0:33:55 > 0:33:58I know, I'm running. OK.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02- Karl, you're a bit of a slave driver.- 'I am, aren't I?'- Hang on.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Harder working than in the kitchen this?
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Today we went out in the radio car,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and we were searching for treasure around Leicestershire, for a show
0:34:10 > 0:34:12called Clueless, for BBC radio Leicester.
0:34:12 > 0:34:13I've found it. I've got it.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17You've got the clue! You've got the clue! Yes!
0:34:17 > 0:34:20It's such a fun programme, I love it.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24You're out in the radio car, and you're just yourself, basically.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27It's great fun. And there's some food!
0:34:27 > 0:34:31- 'Has somebody left a cake for you?' - Yes.- Oh, this is brilliant!
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Somebody's left a cake for the Great British Bake Off lady.
0:34:35 > 0:34:36'Have a little nibble,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39'and here's Christina, going through the clue for you.'
0:34:39 > 0:34:43- Mmm!- Holly's biggest challenge was probably sitting in this
0:34:43 > 0:34:48very studio, presenting a two-hour radio show.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50A completely new challenge, a blank canvas, where she was
0:34:50 > 0:34:53doing all the same sort of stuff that presenters that have been doing
0:34:53 > 0:34:57this job for like 10-20 years have been doing.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59And again, great listener reaction, and it sounded great on air.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02How does that compare with the glare of telly lights
0:35:02 > 0:35:08and the pressure of having to create the most fantastic culinary staff?
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Well, do you know what?
0:35:09 > 0:35:11The main thing they have in common is that
0:35:11 > 0:35:13you are both against the clock.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Right, so I think doing the Bake Off was probably good preparation,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19but the really lovely thing about doing radio is that
0:35:19 > 0:35:21I don't have to worry about wearing make up!
0:35:21 > 0:35:24- Brilliant!- It's less stressful than baking for the judges,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26because you don't get the Paul Hollywood stare
0:35:26 > 0:35:28when you do something wrong.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Karl is a lot nicer. He doesn't get annoyed with me when I get it wrong.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37If, like Holly, baking for Paul and Mary got a bit too stressful,
0:35:37 > 0:35:41inside the marquee, there was another duo on hand to try
0:35:41 > 0:35:43and help relieve the baker's tension.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Oh, hello sailor! Look at that.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Janet, I've been admiring your buns from afar, and quite frankly,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55they're so large, you can be
0:35:55 > 0:35:57at any point of the tent, and be aware of their beauty.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Oh, that's good. Look, that's good!
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Mel and Sue were absolutely brilliant.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05If I'm honest, before the competition started,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I was a little bit worried.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11I thought they might get in my way, and annoy me, buzzing around.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13It's quite a manly quiche.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Now, surely that is a contradiction in terms. A manly quiche?
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- You would think. - You need to embrace the femininity.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22No, I'm doing a walnut pastry, with a bit of paprika in it.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- You're trying to butch it up? - I'm trying to butch it up.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28But actually, they offer really genuine moral support,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31and you did feel like you were in your kitchen,
0:36:31 > 0:36:32having a bit of a chat to them.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Are you going to have to do the whole challenge one-handed?
0:36:36 > 0:36:39No, I'm hoping that the bleeding will be stemmed enough.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Yeah, do you like your elbow support, as well?
0:36:42 > 0:36:45It's lovely, I think I might ask that permanently.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48They were just light relief, whenever you needed them.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51There's a small knobble here which I really like.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53It's just a sort of sitting on the filling.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56It's like a turban, isn't it? It's sort of a meringue turban!
0:36:56 > 0:36:59They were always there to give you a hug when you needed it.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02If something was going wrong, they came over
0:37:02 > 0:37:06and patted your shoulder, and said everything was going to be OK.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07I just want to cry.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Well, you can't help it, it's an unstable thing, isn't it?
0:37:11 > 0:37:15It's all right. It's difficult.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17And for a minute, you do think that you're
0:37:17 > 0:37:19just baking for a village fair.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- So, how are you feeling? Did you sleep last night?- I didn't, no.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25- I've still lots of nerves. - Quiche-related nightmares?
0:37:25 > 0:37:29Quiche-related nightmares. Like Paul Hollywood coming out of my quiche.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32That's a mighty quiche, if Paul Hollywood can get out of it,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34I tell you!
0:37:34 > 0:37:37- They're not very dainty.- Iced fingers aren't supposed to be dainty.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39You've got to stuff your face with them!
0:37:39 > 0:37:42They were on our side when it came to judging.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45If Paul or Mary was being a bit too harsh...
0:37:45 > 0:37:49No, Mary's never harsh, if Paul was being a bit harsh, they would step in
0:37:49 > 0:37:52- Keep this for research purposes.- OK.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55When you've had bad feedback, they're there to pick you up.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I'm in the camp, I hate it.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00- Paul hates it. - I wondered if you'd be in the camp.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03To be honest with you, it's just like a bitterness on my tongue.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06- I'm a fan of the Pernod, Rob. - And they're funny, they're so funny.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Just half an hour until I can eat five cheesecakes!
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Sorry, that was my internal monologue there.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Half an hour, please. Half an hour.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17While not baking experts...
0:38:17 > 0:38:18This basket is a thing of beauty,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22- I don't know whether to put bread in it, or wear it as a hat.- Yeah!
0:38:22 > 0:38:24..they often reveal their potential as baking therapists.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Got it, got it, got it. That was tense. That was tense.
0:38:28 > 0:38:29Yes, with you standing there!
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Is there anyone you're thinking about?
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Oh, I can name a few people. Yeah!
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I was getting really, really stressed, and Sue came over...
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Hold your hands out.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Oh, no, no. We need to do some work on it.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47I just couldn't stop shaking, I don't know what it was.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50I've never really been that stressed before,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54and I don't even think it was stress, I think it was fear!
0:38:54 > 0:38:56I need to find some sort of mantra for something.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Or we need to workshop. Would an expressive dance help? Some song?
0:38:59 > 0:39:02You know, I need to do just find a way of just calming...
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Of calming me down!- Just calm the central nervous system down.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09I don't think I appreciated how much support like that I needed.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13Truth be told, I couldn't have done without them.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14Bakers, time is very much up now.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17There is a mousse loose around this house!
0:39:17 > 0:39:19- And we're going to eat it!- Yeah.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But it was Mel and Sue that always had to deliver the news
0:39:31 > 0:39:34that none of the bakers ever wanted to hear.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38- I've got someone in mind. - I have, too.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Oh, my heart just started going then.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43- It's not you, Mel. It's not you. - Sorry.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46- You're not scheduled to go until next week.- OK.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Each week they had to tell someone that their Bake Off was over.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53I just thought, "If I can just get through to next week."
0:39:53 > 0:39:57It was always, with me, I'd go home and really, really practice,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01so that I could just make it through to the next week,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04and that was my strategy really, if you can call that a strategy.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06I thought if you look too far ahead,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08you might take your eye off the ball for the week you were in.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13You could tell that the atmosphere was getting
0:40:13 > 0:40:15more and more serious as the weeks went on.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20And the person who will be leaving us this week is...
0:40:20 > 0:40:23I didn't want my Bake-Off experience to ever end
0:40:23 > 0:40:25because it was really enjoyable, really fun,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28and it helped me to improve my baking
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and meet people who love baking, to share tips and to just have a laugh.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Cos we all got on really well.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Commiserations, Keith. Round of applause.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- Well done, well done.- Thank you very much. I've had a great time.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49I wasn't surprised, no, when it came to the final judging.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53I was like, there's good money placed on me here to kind of go out,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55so it wasn't really a surprise.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59I was just pleased I was able to walk away having really enjoyed myself,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01which was really what I went in it for.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05The saddest thing of all is that we have to lose one person.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09I have to say, this was extremely close.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14The person who will be leaving us this week is...
0:41:15 > 0:41:16Simon.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18I'm so sorry, mate.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21I did think I was unlucky to go out,
0:41:21 > 0:41:24considering things like Robert dropped his cake in the previous round.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26I know it's not supposed to be cumulative,
0:41:26 > 0:41:27it's supposed to be judged on the day,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30but you can't help but think about these things as you go along.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34And because he'd had problems with his quiche, his tart,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I was actually feeling quite confident
0:41:37 > 0:41:40and looking forward to the third round.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42So to go out, there was an initial,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46"Oh. I'm not coming back next week, I'm quite upset about that."
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Pull your finger out.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52I had a word with Rob after the judge's decision, I said something like,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55"Pull your finger out or I'm going to come and visit you."
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Someone was leaving each week,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04so the numbers started cutting down
0:42:04 > 0:42:08and it felt a bit different around the tent and stuff, so that was quite hard.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11There is a person, or maybe two people...
0:42:13 > 0:42:17..that have failed to make the grade this week.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21And those two people are...
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Ian...
0:42:27 > 0:42:28..and Urvashi.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32When I did leave, it did make me question
0:42:32 > 0:42:35some of the things I was baking,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and it has pushed me to try different things
0:42:38 > 0:42:41that I would not have looked at before.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44'So I'm really kind of grateful that I went through the whole process,'
0:42:44 > 0:42:47and now I'm much better at some of the things
0:42:47 > 0:42:49that I thought I was good at before.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53As much as I wouldn't say I am overly competitive, to walk away
0:42:53 > 0:42:59and know that you're one of the top 12 amateur bakers
0:42:59 > 0:43:00in the country,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really proud of myself for that.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08I got on really well with Ian, I really like Ian a lot.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10- You've got to be proud of that. - I am quite proud of that.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12I think he's one of the funniest people I've ever met.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14I just enjoyed his company immensely.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18And when he left, on a very personal, selfish level,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21I was absolutely gutted for ME, because I thought, "Oh no,
0:43:21 > 0:43:24"I've lost this buddy who's great fun,"
0:43:24 > 0:43:28and the Bake Off felt like a much less colourful place for me.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31I'd like to think I left with my dignity intact -
0:43:31 > 0:43:33cutting my finger aside, of course.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38My downfall was biscuit week.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40The ginger nuts, Paul felt they were too spicy.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45- For my taste, I think it is slightly over-gingered.- But I like ginger.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49My ginger nuts are always hotter. My grandmother's ginger nuts were always hotter,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53- so I've put quite a bit of ginger in.- I like the flavour ginger, but the burn that comes is,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55- for me, too much.- OK.
0:43:55 > 0:43:56We then went on to brandy snaps.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59- They were judged too dark, too thick.- They are very thick.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03I think they're two big, and slightly overdone.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05The colour is very dark.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09And then we were onto the macaroons. And we know what happened there.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12- They are all different sizes. - They're horrendous.- It's a disaster.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15- It's all crashed.- It's a disaster.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19I swore I wasn't going to cry, and I cried.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Over macaroons. I cried over macaroons.
0:44:29 > 0:44:30I'm just disappointed.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36'I think some people got emotional because they felt'
0:44:36 > 0:44:40this was an opportunity to have a whole new life afterwards,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43if they were to do well.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47And I think as time went on, people thought, "Goodness me,
0:44:47 > 0:44:51"if I can do really well in this, it could be a life-changing thing."
0:44:51 > 0:44:56I am proud, and I know friends and family will be proud of me as well.
0:44:57 > 0:45:03I think that in that respect it was a shame because when people were sent
0:45:03 > 0:45:11home they felt devastated because their dream was not going to be realised.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13That was sad.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15I think the common denominator for everyone
0:45:15 > 0:45:19in the competition was that they were passionate about what they did.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24My biggest disaster was leaving in week five.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25You know the drill.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30We can't take all of you on to our next Bake Off.
0:45:31 > 0:45:36So today we are going to be saying goodbye...
0:45:37 > 0:45:39..to Jason.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41It was just really sad.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Generally, all three rounds were quite bad
0:45:44 > 0:45:46so that was a low time.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49And then of course having to go home from that's the was no more
0:45:49 > 0:45:50fun times in the marquee.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52It was quite sad.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54And to Rob.
0:45:54 > 0:46:00I think I went out because I used up all of my cards.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03I had played the cake-dropping card which no-one else had.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Then it kind of got down the line and I had messed up quite a lot
0:46:06 > 0:46:10and had annoyed Paul too much and tried his patience.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13So they kicked me out.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16I mean, it was fair for me and Rob to have left because we did the worst.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Well, I did.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20But in terms of having to leave the competition
0:46:20 > 0:46:23and having had such a good time and having had done so well in the past,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25it was really sad and really hard.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27I still don't like the fact that I left that week
0:46:27 > 0:46:30cos I didn't want my Bake Off time to end.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31I was ready to leave. I had had fun
0:46:31 > 0:46:35and it was getting to the point where I was just too tired.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39It is so hard not to burn your fingers.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42SHE WINCES IN PAIN
0:46:42 > 0:46:47I really didn't want to do laminated pastries.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51I was definitely ready to leave when I went.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53This week was a very tough call.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56It was the closest call we have ever had.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58In fact, two people were
0:46:58 > 0:47:02so sharply in contention that Paul and Mary have had to go back
0:47:02 > 0:47:07and look at the results of all of the technical bakes this series.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08That is how tight it was.
0:47:08 > 0:47:14And so after reviewing all that, the person that very sadly will be leaving us...
0:47:18 > 0:47:20..is Yasmin.
0:47:20 > 0:47:26The rest of you, congratulations, you're semi-finalists.
0:47:26 > 0:47:31- Well done.- Sorry. - Don't be sorry. I'm relieved.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34'I felt quite privileged because I didn't always feel that
0:47:34 > 0:47:35'I should have been there.'
0:47:35 > 0:47:38The quarterfinal...
0:47:38 > 0:47:41I didn't really feel like I should have stayed in.
0:47:41 > 0:47:47I felt huge amounts of guilt towards Yasmin. I still do actually. It is a funny feeling.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49I feel terrible.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53You live and learn. I'm really lucky to be here next week. Really lucky.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56It wasn't a nice week. I didn't feel like, yeah, I am in.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I felt like, God, I'm in and I shouldn't be.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02The thing is, this is all so serious, isn't it?
0:48:02 > 0:48:04It's baking and we should all just get a grip
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and this is the thing but when you're in it...
0:48:08 > 0:48:12I think there was a shot of me crying like some kind of madwoman
0:48:12 > 0:48:19and I remember watching it and thinking I look like a nutter.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25I didn't have huge expectations of myself
0:48:25 > 0:48:28because I don't rate myself too highly.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31When I went through to the next round,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33I was probably more surprised to get through
0:48:33 > 0:48:36than I would have been to go home.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41We can't take all four of you with us to next week's final.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45I didn't ever feel disappointed, except when I was sent home.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50Paul and Mary have decided that the person not coming with us
0:48:50 > 0:48:52is Janet.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53That's fine.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Can I just say, I have had a great time.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00Thanks to everyone for your generosity, your kindness
0:49:00 > 0:49:02and everything.
0:49:02 > 0:49:03You are brilliant.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10I think it's rather fun that people call you by your first name.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Even people you have never clapped eyes on
0:49:13 > 0:49:16shout across the road to you.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20It is quite fun. It is nice that people are happy really, isn't it?
0:49:22 > 0:49:27Janet only just missed out on a place in the Bake Off grand final.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31It was clear from really early on that Mary-Anne was going to be strong, Jo and Holly.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35They were going to be the three that were there or thereabouts.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39I think I was a bit slow to wake up to the fact that it was a competition.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Although that sounds strange.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46My approach was, does it taste nice
0:49:46 > 0:49:48and if it looks enticing, then that is a bonus.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52I'd completed the journey so to be with Holly
0:49:52 > 0:49:56and Mary-Anne in the final, if I didn't come first,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59it wasn't a reflection on my baking because they were both so brilliant.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03Do you know, there was a point probably about Pie Week
0:50:03 > 0:50:08where I think I got a bit ahead of myself and thought, "I'm doing quite well here."
0:50:08 > 0:50:13And, actually, the next week I was like, no, you're not going to win.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Holly's standard was so high from the start,
0:50:17 > 0:50:21so things like measuring out the precision with which she decorated
0:50:21 > 0:50:25all of her cakes or whatever it was she was doing, it was just so high
0:50:25 > 0:50:28that it was clear she was going to go a long way, if not win it.
0:50:28 > 0:50:34She struck me as one of those people that, before it came to baking,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38she was probably, that I observed, the most stressed person there,
0:50:38 > 0:50:42like proper bricking it, and sometimes when people are like that,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46they have all this nervous energy and once they get in and release it,
0:50:46 > 0:50:48they really kind of come to the fore.
0:50:48 > 0:50:53And I say to anyone who's in this year's, don't look forward,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56just keep your eye on that week, don't even dare to dream.
0:50:56 > 0:50:57Just keep focused.
0:51:00 > 0:51:06The winner of the 2011...
0:51:06 > 0:51:10Great British Bake Off is...
0:51:10 > 0:51:13I was always conscious that I wasn't the favourite.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17I literally felt that I was probably the least favourite every week.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Jo!
0:51:19 > 0:51:21CHEERING
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I knew it.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33'Me winning the Bake Off hasn't particularly changed home life.'
0:51:33 > 0:51:39My boys are still my priority, they still mark my food out of ten
0:51:39 > 0:51:43and still purposely give me low marks and constantly ribbing me.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- SUE:- Three's a crowd, sorry.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Since winning the Bake Off,
0:51:47 > 0:51:51Jo's boys have been seeing a little less of their mum.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55In between running a baking school in her kitchen...
0:51:55 > 0:51:59Give it a good, hard squeeze and then... That's it, there you go.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03..she's also been having to find time to teach at larger venues.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Wow, I'm on there.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13That's funny, isn't it?
0:52:13 > 0:52:16Yeah, it is really a bit overwhelming to see that.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18I'm at the Good Food Show today.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21We're going to do a demo this afternoon in the VIP lounge,
0:52:21 > 0:52:23so I've been doing two of these a day at Good Food.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29It's been really good fun. I've had lots of people come up for a chat.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31'It's been really lovely.'
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Give a bit more pressure, yeah.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38I watch the show and she's very nice,
0:52:38 > 0:52:42easy to talk to, and I like her demonstrations.
0:52:42 > 0:52:47Seeing the different cutters and stuff and how easy they are to use.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50- Techniques she showed.- It's all very simple but all looked really good.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52Made it all look very professional.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It's all quite funny, really, that people think
0:52:55 > 0:52:57that I'm qualified to tell them different things.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59It's amazing the things that you do know
0:52:59 > 0:53:02and you can help people with, but you don't realise.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05You'd never realise that that was the case.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Thank you, everyone. Thank you.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12Jo Wheatley!
0:53:12 > 0:53:14APPLAUSE
0:53:14 > 0:53:18Do you have a top tip, a top baking tip that you could share with us?
0:53:18 > 0:53:22- Just always use the best ingredients. - Always use the best ingredients?
0:53:22 > 0:53:24And take time. Because if you rush things,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26they genuinely don't work as well.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28I think the reason that my baking was so good,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30when the boys were little, to get away from them
0:53:30 > 0:53:33I used to wash my kitchen floor, wash myself into the corner
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- and tell them they couldn't come in and just bake.- Fantastic!
0:53:36 > 0:53:40- What's the next year got in store? - I don't know. Watch this space.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Jo Wheatley.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Thanks, everybody. Thank you.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53Jo has also found a way of spreading her baking knowledge even further.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02- Hi, Jo.- Hiya. How are you? - I'm good, thanks.- Good, good.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Oh, it's nice and warm. Fantastic.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09I was so excited when I was told that I was going in Bake Off
0:54:09 > 0:54:13because I was going to have a recipe in a cookery book, you know,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16It was like, "I'm going to get a recipe in a cookery book!"
0:54:16 > 0:54:20And now I'm going to have 120 recipes in a cookery book.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23And it's mine. And I'm going to be on the front and, you know,
0:54:23 > 0:54:29I never, ever dreamt that I'd be able to have my own cookery book.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31I'm here today because we're photographing the food
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and then we're going to go over the measurements and things,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39then they'll be photographed for the book. It's really exciting.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43- Oh, wow.- Oh, fantastic.- That is...
0:54:43 > 0:54:46It looks stunning. Put paper underneath it.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49She's still very, very humble and she said to me yesterday,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52"I can't believe this happened. I still keep pinching myself, going,
0:54:52 > 0:54:56"When am I going to wake up from this? Surely this isn't my life."
0:54:56 > 0:54:59We were looking around yesterday and she was all dressed up
0:54:59 > 0:55:01and she just looked really comfortable and natural
0:55:01 > 0:55:04and I think she's slipped into this role without getting
0:55:04 > 0:55:07any kind of ego or big ideas. She's really lovely to work with.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11I sort of thought I'd get a baking school from doing Bake Off
0:55:11 > 0:55:13if I did OK in it,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16and all of a sudden I've got the baking school,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19I've got personal appearances that I'm doing.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20Now it's the book. It's just...
0:55:20 > 0:55:23It is truly unbelievable.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26I literally wake up in the middle of the night and think,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28"Is it really real or did I dream it?"
0:55:28 > 0:55:29Honestly and truthfully,
0:55:29 > 0:55:34I can't tell you how much of a wonderful experience it's all been.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36- It looks amazing. - It's now about that big.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39THEY LAUGH
0:55:39 > 0:55:43I thought we were going to just eat our way through 120 recipes!
0:55:50 > 0:55:54It was really a learning experience for me.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Every week, I felt that I was learning something.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00And in life, I think that you should try different things and learn,
0:56:00 > 0:56:03you know, there's always a different learning experience out there,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06and if you don't take that chance,
0:56:06 > 0:56:09then you can just be safe all your life
0:56:09 > 0:56:11but never have these amazing experiences.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16It's really just taught me to be a bit more risk-taking
0:56:16 > 0:56:19and adventurous and go for things that you really enjoy.
0:56:19 > 0:56:20Cos I really enjoy baking.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21APPLAUSE
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It was quite an emotional experience,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26I think because it's something that we love so much
0:56:26 > 0:56:28and we want to share with people.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34I was so amazed to get through and taking part every week
0:56:34 > 0:56:38and competing with people who are seriously talented,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I was so proud. It was stressful
0:56:41 > 0:56:43and it was emotional, of course it was.
0:56:43 > 0:56:48But, overall, it was just such a laugh as well.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53Taking part in the Great British Bake Off was a fantastic experience.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55It really was. It's hard to put into words.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00I do highly recommend that people sign up for anything like this,
0:57:00 > 0:57:05even if it's a local fair or a fete or a food festival.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Just have a go. Go and try and get a rosette.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13Every single person in that top 12 should pat themselves on the back,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15because we all did phenomenally well.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18We have come into this competition...
0:57:18 > 0:57:22good bakers and I think hopefully we've left far, far better bakers.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Entering the Bake Off, right back at the beginning,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30filling in the application form was the best thing that I ever did.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35Taking part was exciting, intense, exhilarating, funny.
0:57:35 > 0:57:41There were highs and lows. But I wouldn't have changed a minute of it.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47I think I learned a lot about myself as a person
0:57:47 > 0:57:52and it's gone down as part of who I am, part of life's experience.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55I think it has probably made me a bit stronger.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59And a bit heavier as well!
0:58:15 > 0:58:18Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd