Revisited The Great British Bake Off

Taking part in the Great British Bake Off is the dream

of thousands of home bakers across the country.

Filling in the application form was that best thing that I ever did.

Now we'll hear from those

whose skills got them to the Bake Off tent...

The adrenaline was amazing.

..what it feels like to bake in a pressurised environment...

At home, I have never baked anything and thought about time, ever.

..coping with the tough challenges...

The technical bakes, for me, were treacherous.

..how they dealt with the stress of baking for Mary Berry...

She gives you that look that cuts right through you.

..how they survived being judged by Paul Hollywood...

He said to one person something they made was disgusting.

It's disgusting!

And that, I mean, I don't know where you go from there!

..and how they recovered...

If you think you're fantastic, you are destined for a fall.

..from baking disasters.

I literally did not know what to do, I was going to just walk out.

They will also reveal what has happened since the Bake Off.

Holly Bell, in the BBC Radio Leicester radio car.

It is truly unbelievable.

I wake up in the night and think, "Is it real or did I dream it?"

Settle in...

On your marks, get set...

..for a special edition...

It never had long enough to kind of go wrong for me.

..of the Great British Bake Off...

I did not want my Bake Off time to end.

..Revisited.

And I cried. Over macaroons. I cried over macaroons.

A year ago, 12 home bakers from all over Britain

made a simple but life-changing decision.

I watched the first series in a state of permanent outrage, really,

that nobody had told me it was on.

I said to my husband, "Why hasn't anybody told me this was on?!"

For me, it always, it sounds bizarre,

but it always felt like a bit of an accident.

In that I entered

for a bit of fun.

I turned 40 a couple of years ago.

And I said to myself, I want to make sure I'm doing lots of new things

and experiencing lots of different things.

So I saw the Bake Off advertised and I thought, "Sod it, let's do it!"

Am I allowed to say "Sod it"?!

But while some made the decision alone...

I was reading Good Food magazine and there was an article and it said,

"We are looking for bakers."

So I said, "I am going for this!"

..for others it required that crucial ingredient

in all home baking - family.

My family were constantly telling me I should enter something.

"You're really good, you should go on this."

And then I watched the first series of the Bake Off,

and it was the first time I thought, that is something that I could do.

My wife basically said,

"I want to put you forward for this, you should do it."

I suppose when I hit 31, I reached a bit of a stage in my life

where every opportunity that comes my way,

I am kind of just going to go for it to see where it takes me.

I phoned my youngest daughter and said,

"Since I'm not working full time how about me entering the competition?"

And she said, "Why not? We love your cakes."

And I thought, in my simple way,

that would be all it was, really, making a few cakes!

In July 2010, my eldest son

was diagnosed with leukaemia.

I was working as a sales manager and had to give up full-time work.

And I think my wife wanted me out of the house

so she got an application form for the Bake Off.

She thrust in my face and said, "I think you should do this."

3,500 people had exactly the same idea.

"Are you sure?

"Is it really that many people we have had to fight our way through?!"

There were so many people applying, I never dreamt it would lead on

to actually going through.

Then I got through to the final 12, which, obviously,

I was totally thrilled with.

And before I knew it, there I was.

It is funny being back on the location without filming,

having had a decent night's sleep.

That particularly brings it back.

We used to line up right there against the bridge,

waiting to do our big walk into the marquee.

Sometimes when we got it wrong, usually for laughing, in my case,

we had to do it over and over again.

Even then it was still stressful!

Just walking across earlier was quite strange,

not having an apron on, walking in line

with Mary-Anne or Janet stood next to me!

It just served to hype up those nerves a bit more.

You could see the marquee ahead of you then you had to go

back across and back across.

This prize at the end.

Then when you got in your nerves were in shreds.

So, the first day, got in and saw the actual competition I had,

and thought, "Damn!"

Some people came with some fairly startling array of equipment.

Little paint pots and things.

Other people turned up

with just enough clothes to get through the day.

The adrenaline, though, was amazing!

For the first time - you will hear this a lot over the next few days -

-on your marks, get set...

-Bake!

It did not take long for Britain's 12 best home bakers to realise...

It won't help me, panicking!

..they were no longer at home.

I don't really remember getting stressed.

Look at that! Magnificent!

-Probably did!

-Oh, hang on, hang on!

My kitchen at home is where I go to relax.

Pastry can be a cruel mistress if you don't treat her well!

It is a bit of me time. But when you are doing it in a competition,

you have got the other bakers...

You feel like you have got to double-check absolutely everything.

I want every single roll to be the exact same shape.

It can become really... can I say...anal?

So, I am weighing out the dough.

You kind of go from this activity which is calm and relaxing

to this adrenaline rush.

Not wanting to stress anyone out remotely

but you do have ten minutes left, bakers.

At home, I have never baked anything and thought about time, ever.

You're like, panic, panic, running around. But I really enjoyed it.

I sat there before, thinking, I can't remember - four, five hours?

Thinking, "There is no way I need four or five hours!"

And then the time goes like that.

And I was right up against it at the end.

I used to bake muffins at home, really early,

and bring them in, because it just... I needed to bake something.

For just baking, rather than for competition.

Just to prove to myself that,

"Come on, you can do this.

"It's just what you do every day, basically."

But even in the first round of the competition...

I think it will be OK.

..some of the home bakers attempted cakes that were far from everyday.

We received this thing that said,

"You must produce a three-tiered celebration cake."

And I looked at that and I thought,

"Right, I know what I'm going to do for this,

"and it is going to be a 'Wow!' cake."

With Ben, he talked a lot about his bakes before the actual competition.

That was really unnerving.

I remember seeing a photo of Ben's cake that he had on his phone

from when he had been practising.

He gave us a preview of what he was going to make. We were like, "Whoa!"

I had in my head that it was for a 15 or 16-year-old girl for her birthday.

And he wheeled in a tool chest on what looked like a hostess trolley.

And it was laden with airbrushes and fine cake-decorating equipment.

That was quite unsettling.

All I had got was some training kit so I did not have to go to the gym!

I am trying to get it on and done.

You're the make-up artist to all the sponge cakes.

When they have an imperfection they always call for you!

This tower of a cake, and airbrushing, icing,

looking over, thinking, "Oh, my God, I am so going out, compared to that!"

But then...

If it is too pretty to eat,

then that is not a successful bake, I don't think.

The sponge is a little bit bland.

I think it is slightly overdone as well.

I think a bit more work on the sponge and a little less time on the finish.

Yes.

And in hindsight, that was totally wrong, because if I wanted to really

hit the judges, it would have been something they would have wanted.

But that would not have been me.

Having your home baking poked, prodded,

and chewed over by professional judges for the first time...

-They have lost some of their shape.

-..proved sensitive for everyone.

When you bake at home there is no stress.

Because you are baking for people who love you.

It is very rare that I get feedback other than, "It's yummy, Mummy!"

Unless I have done something really bad!

Appearance wise, too simple.

I got quite tearful with some of the negative feedback I got.

Because I was just so exhausted.

And all the nervous energy building up, so when somebody said

something negative, you really did feel like bursting into tears.

Which you did!

Which I did!

If I spoke to my husband now he would probably say,

"Look, you are there, you're good at this, you know you are,

"you just need to forget about what he said, the comments,

"just focus on what you need to do."

It is your efforts, your own work, your own time, love, and care

that has gone into making something,

and for a lot of others, learning from a parent or relative,

sometimes they have passed away,

it has got a strong emotional connection to them.

That's why a lot of people tend to get emotional about baking.

-I don't like it.

-I don't like it.

When the first programme aired, all my neighbours came round

to the house and I had whatever was on the programme baked

and we brought it out as it was shown on the TV.

The icing on it, it needs work, it needs to be smoother.

It was like 4D-TV, if you like, and they absolutely loved them.

I nailed the frosting.

They had to, they were in my house eating the food.

-It's sad, it's a bit of a disaster, really.

-Yes, I'm afraid so.

If you make something at home and it is slightly imperfect,

it doesn't matter.

But when it's for a competition, of course it really matters

when someone's going to press it hard and say,

"It's a little bit doughy on the bottom

"and it hasn't risen quite as much as it should have done."

The flavour is not very distinctive. The lemon icing needs more lemon.

It wasn't a good start. I thought my fate was sealed already.

But Janet needn't have worried.

The person who will not be joining us next week is Keith.

Commiserations, Keith.

He had a really bish-bash-bosh approach to baking.

If this thing is right, it says they're baked.

A really kind of earnest approach to baking.

I'm not used to all this origami effort, I tell you that much.

If it works, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Bung it all together. Bang.

He wasn't heartbroken, going out in the first round.

Talking to Keith in between filming...

-You winning?

-I hope so.

..he was more concerned about getting back for the Arsenal match.

Bingo-jingo.

The first home baker to leave the Bake Off tent went back to just that -

home baking.

It's weird when you go to the chemist to get something

for your boy and they are like, "I saw you on TV recently, didn't I?"

But for others, like since entering

and then leaving the Bake Off has seen a few changes.

When 19-year-old Jason White applied to take part in the Bake Off,

he was a civil engineering student.

He is still going to college but he is no longer studying.

You don't know what I'm making today?

Chocolate orange mini tarts.

So is going to be chocolate pastry with an orange creme patisserie.

I just say the English pastry cream. Because I always get wrong.

And then segmented oranges on top.

Jason's baking expertise has now been passed on to students

studying catering in West London.

I didn't really envisage myself doing this.

I always enjoy working with people who are interactive

and young people. Teaching. So that's why it's fun.

But I didn't think that after the Bake Off I would be here doing demos here as well.

So the pressure is on. I'm really happy I'm doing it.

Smell the chocolateyness.

I wasn't interested in bakery at all but when Jason came,

he made me want to bake as well.

He gets you motivated, definitely.

When you see someone your age doing that, you motivate yourself to do better.

Have you guys made pastry cream before?

-Yes.

-So you guys could tell me what to do then.

Doing this now feels very natural to me. It really does. It's different.

Something to still get used to and adjust to

and what I do is not the same thing day in and day out.

But in terms of being able to do food and do something I love and enjoy it is a great feeling.

We have some chocolate orange tartlets, guys. There we are.

He is like an inspiration to me because I love baking.

I have baked all my life so I would like to be like him one day.

As Jason begins to inspire the next generation of home bakers,

during the Bake Off for him and all his fellow contestants,

inspiration had a household name.

They look like they mean business today.

Mary Berry is dressed as a cowgirl. I think that means business.

She's got her hand in the wrong pocket, though. It should be in the front.

If you bake, you tend to know that

Mary Berry is the be all and end all of traditional baking.

I've always known about Mary, probably since when I was at school.

I did Home Economics and so Mary has always been a massive influence.

You feel you know them

because they are on the telly, in your cookbooks.

But, to meet them, that is the grand high priestess of baking.

My main motivation was to have Mary Berry taste my cooking.

I mean, how many people can say that?

I think it is absolutely lovely

and the pure alcohol is doing me a lot of good.

I think I described Mary Berry to a friend recently as a food ninja.

She knows everything, she sees everything

and she appears from nowhere because she is so small compared to me.

I thunder around in the marquee doing my baking

but Mary would just appear, look at something,

comment and then disappear again. It was terrifying.

She did used to get told off quite a bit for trying to help us.

She would come around and whisper, "Try doing it this way,"

and get told, "Mary, stop it!"

-You obviously want to make Mary proud.

-Like your mum, in a way.

-Yes.

-You want her to be proud of you for that.

-To not be disappointed.

Mary's disappointment is the worst thing.

Like a bucket of cold water.

Mary is absolutely lovely.

It feels like I'm cooking for my granny and she is trying to find compliments.

The middle is scrummy.

It feels like she'd never try to find fault.

This Victoria sponge is an absolute classic.

When Mary said my Victoria sponge was one of the finest

she had ever tasted, it was just one of those moments

that you'll never forget in your life.

It is one of the best that I have tasted

and it's rather nice to have it that size.

To have Mary look at your quiche, turn it over...

What we haven't done is turned it upside-down to see how the bottom is.

..and say, "No soggy bottom." And I remember Mary's words clearly. She said...

-Excellent. Not good - excellent.

-Relief!

-That's perfect.

I think I will die a happy man with those words ringing in my ears.

Whatever we put in front of her,

she found something nice to say to begin with.

She wasn't all sweetness and light.

It's just not working, that lavender, is it?

These are not good enough.

She gives you that look and it cuts right through you.

It's very doughy. It is sticking to the roof of my mouth.

She could see the flaws and she wasn't prepared to say it was brilliant when it wasn't.

-It needed a little more cooking.

-Nightmare. I'm sorry about that.

When Mary gives me a criticism, to be honest, it is a bigger criticism.

This one is very over-baked.

That's why it wasn't at the front.

So you basically tried to hide that one.

Yeah, that was just being covered up a bit.

This is Miss Marple you're dealing with here.

If she says something bad, you're like, "Damn, I let her down!"

Oh dear, you're capable of such great things, you know.

Whereas Paul would say, "I don't like it. That's my final word,"

Mary would be more sort of, "I'm not keen on it but, if you did this, it would be fantastic."

-Did you add baking powder to these?

-I did.

Sometimes if you use too much baking powder it rises up

and then drops down again.

Mary was the voice of fairness.

She really understood the 12 of us that were in the thing

in the marquee were amateurs.

It doesn't tempt me to eat it. But once I get going, it's jolly good.

Therefore we were going to make some mistakes.

Things were going to go wrong and things were going to happen.

But if you're baking at home,

the occasional mistake is easily glossed over.

Let's not go there.

The pressure in the Bake Off tent, however...

You never know what's going to happen.

..can make the odd mishap...

Oh, no!

..feel like a monumental disaster.

Oh, my God, I've done something wrong.

No-one was immune.

I opened the proving drawer to have a look and see how it was doing...

I don't know if it is supposed to look like that.

..and the bread just flopped.

Oops! I have one macaroon or six long macaroons.

It has to be mind over matter and then just carry on.

You felt sorry for them but it made you feel like it could happen to any of you.

It has just not gone right today.

-If somebody has a disaster, you're like, yes!

-Oh, no! Oh, gosh!

Ian! Ian-Ian!

I managed to cut the end off my finger.

-It's happened again, hasn't it?

-It's just flopped and dripped and...

Sad day.

The whole thing has collapsed. I'm really disappointed.

I don't think people want to watch perfection all the time.

I think they like the humanity of a mistake.

Don't worry.

These things are sent to try us.

If you think you're fantastic, you're destined for a fall, aren't you?

Whereas if you think you are just OK,

you're pleased when things just go right.

It is an easier way to be.

Pesto-quiche-gate was week two. It wasn't my finest hour.

That's a big swamp of quiche.

Paul and Mary hated it. There's no other way to describe how they felt about it.

-I'm afraid I'm not mad about it.

-It doesn't work for me. It is too much.

It's too much on a quiche.

It has been suggested to me by Ian

that I should write a book - 1001 Ways With Pesto.

He is quite naughty.

You weren't pleased but it kind of made you feel like you weren't the only one.

One of the most talked about disasters in the Bake Off

occurred earlier than anyone expected.

Imagine it's the first week of the Bake Off,

I haven't been in the marquee before and don't know

any of the other people, so everybody's trying to impress.

I think it's going to be OK.

This is the week that everyone's just trying to get through and do all right and then...

My hands are shaking.

I think I was trying to build my tiers.

I was right at the back, he was right at the front, but I heard it.

HE GASPS >

At the point that it fell, I could see Rob with his head in his hands.

I think we all heard what he said, which was not for broadcast.

BLEEP.

When it's just sat there on the floor,

just in a puddle of cake, I literally did not know what to do.

I was going to just walk out.

Try and rescue one of those layers...

And then Paul said, "You can scoop that up. That bit's not touched the floor.

"Scoop it up, put it on, do it",

and walked off, and I was like, "Yeah".

That cake was the only thing that I ate that anyone baked

over that weekend, and it was absolutely lovely.

There was no secret Tim Henman-style air-punching,

like "Yes, that's one person out of the way", because he worked so hard.

I thought "Heavens above, that could have been me".

Poor Rob.

Did get him some airtime, though, so I must remember that one.

If I ever do it again, I've got to drop a cake.

There was one baker, however,

who managed to save the worst until last.

Ooh...

SHE GASPS

45-year-old housewife Mary-Anne Boermans

over-decorated her signature mille-feuille...

The great piping disaster of 2011.

No, it's all going!

..which then caused her to freeze in panic,

before having to pipe the word "Sacher"

on her Sachertorte during the final technical challenge.

I'm feeling positively nauseous.

All you need to do is write six letters on a piece of cake.

-You can do it.

-Yes.

What you don't want to do is have a moment where you misspell.

My daughter's called Sacha.

Or you could just misspell it

and say it's an ode. It's an ode to your daughter.

I think it's one of those things, Mary-Anne, where you just do it.

I'm going to stand back and let you go for it.

SHE GASPS

You wrote Sacha!

-That's your fault!

-It's not my fault.

'Maybe if I hadn't written my daughter's name

'instead of Sacher on the Sachertorte',

maybe I'd have won.

But I thought that was hilarious, in the final,

to do something like that, especially

when Sue said just beforehand, "Don't make a spelling mistake".

I think we have a problem with the spelling on that one, don't we?

-It's actually written in Austrian.

-Oh, well, that explains it.

What a klutz. Anyway.

After the Bake Off,

it was Mary-Anne's more successful bakes

that caught the attention of the owner

of a historic tea room in Cardiff.

David, what I've got here for you to try

is some suggestions for afternoon tea that might be a little bit different

and out of the ordinary.

David and I met over Twitter, when he got in touch

and said what a fan he was of the Bake Off programme.

I noticed from his blog that he had the aspiration

of opening a tea room in Cardiff.

So we got chatting and enthusing about baking

and recipes, and I've become kind of a consultant to him,

especially with the old-fashioned recipes,

trying to resurrect them and bring them into the 21st century.

This is a puff pastry case, with lemon cheesecake filling.

-These date from the Tudor times, allegedly.

-They are excellent.

'The thing about Mary-Anne'

is her passion for baking,

and her passion for history,

and the tradition of baking and the tradition of recipes.

That was inspirational. It was great to have that in my tea room. It's brilliant.

With a Bake Off finalist recreating his menu,

David has asked Mary-Anne and her daughter Sacha to attend

the tea room's grand reopening.

I'm very honoured to be asked to be here today.

Without further ado, let's get on with the cake. Good luck,

and happy dunking.

APPLAUSE

I've really enjoyed working alongside David

and watching his project move along,

and all the milestones that he's achieved,

and to see it come to fruition.

The Bake Off certainly has given me opportunities

I wouldn't have had normally. It's also given me the confidence,

having had feedback from Paul and Mary about the quality

of the things that I bake, to branch out

with these recipes that I'm going to resurrect

and present and hopefully encourage other people

to start baking them again.

Whatever challenges the bakers have faced since the Bake Off,

they've had excellent training,

facing one of life's most ominous situations during it...

Now, be afraid, be very afraid.

Hang on. 3 o'clock, mate.

Look as if you know what you're doing. You do know what you're doing.

..baking for Paul Hollywood.

I would probably describe Paul as, um...

Oh...

He's a silver fox. He hates that. Let's call him the silver fox.

You could almost look for a camera if you cut corners.

You think, "No, Paul wouldn't do that".

Someone's not been following my recipe.

With over 30 years of baking experience...

Wow, that is amazing.

..judgments ranged from the swift and merciless...

It's a mess. I don't like it.

Stodgy. Claggy.

-Very dry. What was in this pastry again?

-Just straightforward pastry.

Which you burnt.

..to forensically detailed deconstructions.

Never has pastry been so scrutinised.

-Coriander's not coming through.

-It's more the smell you get from the coriander.

I won't eat a loaf if it smells nice. I expect to taste it as well.

I wouldn't describe Paul as cuddly.

-It's sadly lacking in flavour.

-OK.

'He's got steely blue eyes that stare at you,

'and it is really scary and daunting.'

He doesn't pull his punches. If he doesn't like it, he's going to say he doesn't like it.

He said to one person that something they made was disgusting.

It's disgusting.

And that, I mean, I don't know where you go from there.

The interior of that is revolting.

And some things, he liked, and some things he didn't like,

and that's allowed.

Is this the way you wanted them to look?

As long as you don't take it too personally, because it is very direct.

Just take it with a pinch of salt. Not too much salt.

-You've got too much salt in there.

-Oh.

I did have a strange relationship with Paul.

From the feedback that I got, he was harsh on me and it was fine.

-I could have dropped that in from a 5ft height and ended up with that finish. Must try harder.

-Noted.

But then from watching the series, he said a lot of things,

kind of, behind my back.

I often feel like a schoolteacher with Rob.

He had two hours. Everybody else managed to do it. Just get it done.

Stop messing around and get it in the oven.

He's, you know, my dad, who is making me strive more.

I'm disappointed.

If he finds something he can say bad about it, he will, because it will make me better.

I think Paul and myself,

as personalities, would clash quite a lot.

-It looks a mess.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And it came across that obviously, when I believed in something, I would disagree.

Overwhelmed totally by the rosemary.

Really? Because I like the rosemary flavour.

-Then don't put raisins and walnut in, because they're pointless.

-OK.

But not everyone cowered behind their ovens.

I've met far scarier people in the air force than Paul Hollywood.

For some, a touch of Hollywood...

-Get back.

-..was almost a pleasure.

-He may hate me for saying this. He's an absolute pussycat.

-Nice flavours.

Delicious. Absolutely spot-on.

I can't fault it, really.

It was quite daring, actually. As long as he gets that balance right,

he could create something magical.

There's definitely something about him that makes you pay attention,

because he's got so much experience.

The icing on it needs work. It needs to be smoother. It needs to be set.

Having somebody stood there and saying "If you just change this..."

Think about your flavour combinations. Guinness, use in one. Chocolate, use in another.

Chocolate and Guinness, you're on a hiding to nothing.

I've taken those things and gone away and changed how I bake,

and I've got good results.

So it's been beneficial to meet someone like him,

but he's certainly not the scariest person I've ever met.

Even if you weren't scared of Paul Hollywood...

Coming up now is possibly the moment that you've been dreading.

..every round of the Bake Off featured a challenge

that terrified everyone.

The technical bake is a controlled test

of both your intuition and your ability.

The technical bakes, for me, were treacherous.

Everybody was nervous beforehand, because you didn't have a clue. It could have been absolutely anything.

You're trying to second-guess from what you can see on your counter.

You can't possibly prepare for it.

You're almost willing your presenters to hurry up,

because you just want to open that drawer and find that piece of paper.

What's the recipe? What am I going to make?

It's a Battenberg cake.

Not just any old Battenberg cake,

but a coffee and walnut Battenberg cake.

As soon as you knew what it was,

your mind goes through this process of, "Where have I seen that before?"

I know what it is, because Dot in EastEnders makes them for Jim.

The only place that I could ever remember

at that particular moment in time

having seen Battenberg was on EastEnders.

And Dot Cotton came into my head,

so you have all of these visions in your mind of,

"What does it look like when Dot Cotton made it for Jim?",

which is completely ridiculous.

With only a very basic recipe to guide them...

It looks all right, but God, who knows?

There was just one way the bakers could

-check they were headed in the right direction?

-Let me see yours.

Yeah, some challenges, I did sort of look around, if I wasn't too sure

what I was doing, but it's a bit hard, because one minute you've

got a lot of time, and two, you're not sure, you might copy someone.

Are they doing it the correct way?

Moment of truth. I had no expertise, but I knew I'd cope,

because at the end of the day,

no-one's going to die if I get wrong.

Hopefully.

During one particular Technical Challenge...

We're looking for the perfect focaccia, and you've got three

and a half hours in which to bake it.

..trying to copy someone else proved a little pointless.

The focaccia was very difficult, because I don't think anyone,

and I certainly hadn't made it before,

and it was an unbelievably wet mixture.

It was like a liquid cement, or something.

-I've got no idea whether I'm getting it right.

-Strange.

-It is weird, isn't it?

-Oh, gosh.

The ratios on the recipe of water to flour were different

to any I'd ever made before. There was a lot more water.

-Will this make bread?

-You've got to have faith in the recipe.

You're kind of like, I've got to trust the recipe.

This guy knows what he's talking about."

For some reason, which will probably never be known to me,

I decided to deviate from Paul Hollywood's recipe.

-I've kind of done that.

-Oh, so you are way...

Have you got any more water to add?

I've got a bit there, but the dough was wetter than I would have liked.

To this day, cannot tell you what I was thinking.

I thought, perhaps I could add a bit more flour,

because sometimes the ratios aren't strict.

Could you actually, Could you tip some flour in?

-Are you sure you should be adding more?

-I've got to try and salvage what I can.

So, I added a bit more flour, thinking it would be fine,

because the mixture was really wet and sloppy and gloopy,

but apparently that was wrong.

Now this...

I'll just go with it, and see what happens.

I didn't make Paul's focaccia recipe the way that he intended.

I decided that I knew better, never having made focaccia before,

I thought, I'll just wade in and change this recipe.

It's too wet, I'm going to throw some more flour in.

Sorry, can I just add a bit of flour?

Sorry, love. Yeah, yeah. Sorry.

I think I did probably add a bit to much flour.

Which I think was the temptation most of us had really.

I didn't trust the master baker's recipe, I think.

Someone's thought, "Paul doesn't know what he's doing.

"He's made a mistake here!" I don't think I'll add all the water!

I've practised at that damn focaccia that threw me out,

and I've worked my way through Paul's books, and actually

I think I've reached the standard that even Paul would be proud of.

Having survived all eight Technical Challenges,

one home baker has now traded her apron for a career where

being able to deal with the unexpected is crucial.

Karl Cooper here in the studio.

Holly Bell in the BBC Radio Leicester radio car.

This is a programme called - Clueless.

Holly Bell, in the radio car, whereabouts are you now?

It's very pretty, lots of fields at the moment,

so, Dale, I'm sure you know where you're going, don't you?

I never thought for a second that baking

would lead to radio presenting. I'm really glad it has.

And I did want to change my life, I guess,

I wanted to do something different for a living,

and I've certainly fulfilled that brief, and I'm loving it.

It's great fun. The people in radio are fantastic.

So, yeah, I feel very blessed.

OK, let's go and find some people.

My first encounter with Holly was hearing about her

involvement with the Great British Bake Off,

knowing that by nature of that, she was

immediately becoming a local celebrity.

So, she kept appearing on air,

in features about her progress in the show.

And we knew, as soon as we heard her, that there

was something quite special about her delivery.

You know, what you hear is exactly what you get.

She's actually a natural.

'Now, Holly, look, it's 9:57 now.'

I know, I'm running. OK.

-Karl, you're a bit of a slave driver.

-'I am, aren't I?'

-Hang on.

Harder working than in the kitchen this?

Today we went out in the radio car,

and we were searching for treasure around Leicestershire, for a show

called Clueless, for BBC radio Leicester.

I've found it. I've got it.

You've got the clue! You've got the clue! Yes!

It's such a fun programme, I love it.

You're out in the radio car, and you're just yourself, basically.

It's great fun. And there's some food!

-'Has somebody left a cake for you?'

-Yes.

-Oh, this is brilliant!

Somebody's left a cake for the Great British Bake Off lady.

'Have a little nibble,

'and here's Christina, going through the clue for you.'

-Mmm!

-Holly's biggest challenge was probably sitting in this

very studio, presenting a two-hour radio show.

A completely new challenge, a blank canvas, where she was

doing all the same sort of stuff that presenters that have been doing

this job for like 10-20 years have been doing.

And again, great listener reaction, and it sounded great on air.

How does that compare with the glare of telly lights

and the pressure of having to create the most fantastic culinary staff?

Well, do you know what?

The main thing they have in common is that

you are both against the clock.

Right, so I think doing the Bake Off was probably good preparation,

but the really lovely thing about doing radio is that

I don't have to worry about wearing make up!

-Brilliant!

-It's less stressful than baking for the judges,

because you don't get the Paul Hollywood stare

when you do something wrong.

Karl is a lot nicer. He doesn't get annoyed with me when I get it wrong.

If, like Holly, baking for Paul and Mary got a bit too stressful,

inside the marquee, there was another duo on hand to try

and help relieve the baker's tension.

Oh, hello sailor! Look at that.

Janet, I've been admiring your buns from afar, and quite frankly,

they're so large, you can be

at any point of the tent, and be aware of their beauty.

Oh, that's good. Look, that's good!

Mel and Sue were absolutely brilliant.

If I'm honest, before the competition started,

I was a little bit worried.

I thought they might get in my way, and annoy me, buzzing around.

It's quite a manly quiche.

Now, surely that is a contradiction in terms. A manly quiche?

-You would think.

-You need to embrace the femininity.

No, I'm doing a walnut pastry, with a bit of paprika in it.

-You're trying to butch it up?

-I'm trying to butch it up.

But actually, they offer really genuine moral support,

and you did feel like you were in your kitchen,

having a bit of a chat to them.

Are you going to have to do the whole challenge one-handed?

No, I'm hoping that the bleeding will be stemmed enough.

Yeah, do you like your elbow support, as well?

It's lovely, I think I might ask that permanently.

They were just light relief, whenever you needed them.

There's a small knobble here which I really like.

It's just a sort of sitting on the filling.

It's like a turban, isn't it? It's sort of a meringue turban!

They were always there to give you a hug when you needed it.

If something was going wrong, they came over

and patted your shoulder, and said everything was going to be OK.

I just want to cry.

Well, you can't help it, it's an unstable thing, isn't it?

It's all right. It's difficult.

And for a minute, you do think that you're

just baking for a village fair.

-So, how are you feeling? Did you sleep last night?

-I didn't, no.

-I've still lots of nerves.

-Quiche-related nightmares?

Quiche-related nightmares. Like Paul Hollywood coming out of my quiche.

That's a mighty quiche, if Paul Hollywood can get out of it,

I tell you!

-They're not very dainty.

-Iced fingers aren't supposed to be dainty.

You've got to stuff your face with them!

They were on our side when it came to judging.

If Paul or Mary was being a bit too harsh...

No, Mary's never harsh, if Paul was being a bit harsh, they would step in

-Keep this for research purposes.

-OK.

When you've had bad feedback, they're there to pick you up.

I'm in the camp, I hate it.

-Paul hates it.

-I wondered if you'd be in the camp.

To be honest with you, it's just like a bitterness on my tongue.

-I'm a fan of the Pernod, Rob.

-And they're funny, they're so funny.

Just half an hour until I can eat five cheesecakes!

Sorry, that was my internal monologue there.

Half an hour, please. Half an hour.

While not baking experts...

This basket is a thing of beauty,

-I don't know whether to put bread in it, or wear it as a hat.

-Yeah!

..they often reveal their potential as baking therapists.

Got it, got it, got it. That was tense. That was tense.

Yes, with you standing there!

Is there anyone you're thinking about?

Oh, I can name a few people. Yeah!

I was getting really, really stressed, and Sue came over...

Hold your hands out.

Oh, no, no. We need to do some work on it.

I just couldn't stop shaking, I don't know what it was.

I've never really been that stressed before,

and I don't even think it was stress, I think it was fear!

I need to find some sort of mantra for something.

Or we need to workshop. Would an expressive dance help? Some song?

You know, I need to do just find a way of just calming...

-Of calming me down!

-Just calm the central nervous system down.

I don't think I appreciated how much support like that I needed.

Truth be told, I couldn't have done without them.

Bakers, time is very much up now.

There is a mousse loose around this house!

-And we're going to eat it!

-Yeah.

But it was Mel and Sue that always had to deliver the news

that none of the bakers ever wanted to hear.

-I've got someone in mind.

-I have, too.

Oh, my heart just started going then.

-It's not you, Mel. It's not you.

-Sorry.

-You're not scheduled to go until next week.

-OK.

Each week they had to tell someone that their Bake Off was over.

I just thought, "If I can just get through to next week."

It was always, with me, I'd go home and really, really practice,

so that I could just make it through to the next week,

and that was my strategy really, if you can call that a strategy.

I thought if you look too far ahead,

you might take your eye off the ball for the week you were in.

You could tell that the atmosphere was getting

more and more serious as the weeks went on.

And the person who will be leaving us this week is...

I didn't want my Bake-Off experience to ever end

because it was really enjoyable, really fun,

and it helped me to improve my baking

and meet people who love baking, to share tips and to just have a laugh.

Cos we all got on really well.

Commiserations, Keith. Round of applause.

-Well done, well done.

-Thank you very much. I've had a great time.

I wasn't surprised, no, when it came to the final judging.

I was like, there's good money placed on me here to kind of go out,

so it wasn't really a surprise.

I was just pleased I was able to walk away having really enjoyed myself,

which was really what I went in it for.

The saddest thing of all is that we have to lose one person.

I have to say, this was extremely close.

The person who will be leaving us this week is...

Simon.

I'm so sorry, mate.

I did think I was unlucky to go out,

considering things like Robert dropped his cake in the previous round.

I know it's not supposed to be cumulative,

it's supposed to be judged on the day,

but you can't help but think about these things as you go along.

And because he'd had problems with his quiche, his tart,

I was actually feeling quite confident

and looking forward to the third round.

So to go out, there was an initial,

"Oh. I'm not coming back next week, I'm quite upset about that."

Pull your finger out.

I had a word with Rob after the judge's decision, I said something like,

"Pull your finger out or I'm going to come and visit you."

Someone was leaving each week,

so the numbers started cutting down

and it felt a bit different around the tent and stuff, so that was quite hard.

There is a person, or maybe two people...

..that have failed to make the grade this week.

And those two people are...

Ian...

..and Urvashi.

When I did leave, it did make me question

some of the things I was baking,

and it has pushed me to try different things

that I would not have looked at before.

'So I'm really kind of grateful that I went through the whole process,'

and now I'm much better at some of the things

that I thought I was good at before.

As much as I wouldn't say I am overly competitive, to walk away

and know that you're one of the top 12 amateur bakers

in the country,

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really proud of myself for that.

I got on really well with Ian, I really like Ian a lot.

-You've got to be proud of that.

-I am quite proud of that.

I think he's one of the funniest people I've ever met.

I just enjoyed his company immensely.

And when he left, on a very personal, selfish level,

I was absolutely gutted for ME, because I thought, "Oh no,

"I've lost this buddy who's great fun,"

and the Bake Off felt like a much less colourful place for me.

I'd like to think I left with my dignity intact -

cutting my finger aside, of course.

My downfall was biscuit week.

The ginger nuts, Paul felt they were too spicy.

-For my taste, I think it is slightly over-gingered.

-But I like ginger.

My ginger nuts are always hotter. My grandmother's ginger nuts were always hotter,

-so I've put quite a bit of ginger in.

-I like the flavour ginger, but the burn that comes is,

-for me, too much.

-OK.

We then went on to brandy snaps.

-They were judged too dark, too thick.

-They are very thick.

I think they're two big, and slightly overdone.

The colour is very dark.

And then we were onto the macaroons. And we know what happened there.

-They are all different sizes.

-They're horrendous.

-It's a disaster.

-It's all crashed.

-It's a disaster.

I swore I wasn't going to cry, and I cried.

Over macaroons. I cried over macaroons.

I'm just disappointed.

'I think some people got emotional because they felt'

this was an opportunity to have a whole new life afterwards,

if they were to do well.

And I think as time went on, people thought, "Goodness me,

"if I can do really well in this, it could be a life-changing thing."

I am proud, and I know friends and family will be proud of me as well.

I think that in that respect it was a shame because when people were sent

home they felt devastated because their dream was not going to be realised.

That was sad.

I think the common denominator for everyone

in the competition was that they were passionate about what they did.

My biggest disaster was leaving in week five.

You know the drill.

We can't take all of you on to our next Bake Off.

So today we are going to be saying goodbye...

..to Jason.

It was just really sad.

Generally, all three rounds were quite bad

so that was a low time.

And then of course having to go home from that's the was no more

fun times in the marquee.

It was quite sad.

And to Rob.

I think I went out because I used up all of my cards.

I had played the cake-dropping card which no-one else had.

Then it kind of got down the line and I had messed up quite a lot

and had annoyed Paul too much and tried his patience.

So they kicked me out.

I mean, it was fair for me and Rob to have left because we did the worst.

Well, I did.

But in terms of having to leave the competition

and having had such a good time and having had done so well in the past,

it was really sad and really hard.

I still don't like the fact that I left that week

cos I didn't want my Bake Off time to end.

I was ready to leave. I had had fun

and it was getting to the point where I was just too tired.

It is so hard not to burn your fingers.

SHE WINCES IN PAIN

I really didn't want to do laminated pastries.

I was definitely ready to leave when I went.

This week was a very tough call.

It was the closest call we have ever had.

In fact, two people were

so sharply in contention that Paul and Mary have had to go back

and look at the results of all of the technical bakes this series.

That is how tight it was.

And so after reviewing all that, the person that very sadly will be leaving us...

..is Yasmin.

The rest of you, congratulations, you're semi-finalists.

-Well done.

-Sorry.

-Don't be sorry. I'm relieved.

'I felt quite privileged because I didn't always feel that

'I should have been there.'

The quarterfinal...

I didn't really feel like I should have stayed in.

I felt huge amounts of guilt towards Yasmin. I still do actually. It is a funny feeling.

I feel terrible.

You live and learn. I'm really lucky to be here next week. Really lucky.

It wasn't a nice week. I didn't feel like, yeah, I am in.

I felt like, God, I'm in and I shouldn't be.

The thing is, this is all so serious, isn't it?

It's baking and we should all just get a grip

and this is the thing but when you're in it...

I think there was a shot of me crying like some kind of madwoman

and I remember watching it and thinking I look like a nutter.

I didn't have huge expectations of myself

because I don't rate myself too highly.

When I went through to the next round,

I was probably more surprised to get through

than I would have been to go home.

We can't take all four of you with us to next week's final.

I didn't ever feel disappointed, except when I was sent home.

Paul and Mary have decided that the person not coming with us

is Janet.

That's fine.

Can I just say, I have had a great time.

Thanks to everyone for your generosity, your kindness

and everything.

You are brilliant.

I think it's rather fun that people call you by your first name.

Even people you have never clapped eyes on

shout across the road to you.

It is quite fun. It is nice that people are happy really, isn't it?

Janet only just missed out on a place in the Bake Off grand final.

It was clear from really early on that Mary-Anne was going to be strong, Jo and Holly.

They were going to be the three that were there or thereabouts.

I think I was a bit slow to wake up to the fact that it was a competition.

Although that sounds strange.

My approach was, does it taste nice

and if it looks enticing, then that is a bonus.

I'd completed the journey so to be with Holly

and Mary-Anne in the final, if I didn't come first,

it wasn't a reflection on my baking because they were both so brilliant.

Do you know, there was a point probably about Pie Week

where I think I got a bit ahead of myself and thought, "I'm doing quite well here."

And, actually, the next week I was like, no, you're not going to win.

Holly's standard was so high from the start,

so things like measuring out the precision with which she decorated

all of her cakes or whatever it was she was doing, it was just so high

that it was clear she was going to go a long way, if not win it.

She struck me as one of those people that, before it came to baking,

she was probably, that I observed, the most stressed person there,

like proper bricking it, and sometimes when people are like that,

they have all this nervous energy and once they get in and release it,

they really kind of come to the fore.

And I say to anyone who's in this year's, don't look forward,

just keep your eye on that week, don't even dare to dream.

Just keep focused.

The winner of the 2011...

Great British Bake Off is...

I was always conscious that I wasn't the favourite.

I literally felt that I was probably the least favourite every week.

Jo!

CHEERING

I knew it.

'Me winning the Bake Off hasn't particularly changed home life.'

My boys are still my priority, they still mark my food out of ten

and still purposely give me low marks and constantly ribbing me.

-SUE:

-Three's a crowd, sorry.

Since winning the Bake Off,

Jo's boys have been seeing a little less of their mum.

In between running a baking school in her kitchen...

Give it a good, hard squeeze and then... That's it, there you go.

..she's also been having to find time to teach at larger venues.

Wow, I'm on there.

That's funny, isn't it?

Yeah, it is really a bit overwhelming to see that.

I'm at the Good Food Show today.

We're going to do a demo this afternoon in the VIP lounge,

so I've been doing two of these a day at Good Food.

Hi, everyone. Nice to meet you.

It's been really good fun. I've had lots of people come up for a chat.

'It's been really lovely.'

Give a bit more pressure, yeah.

I watch the show and she's very nice,

easy to talk to, and I like her demonstrations.

Seeing the different cutters and stuff and how easy they are to use.

-Techniques she showed.

-It's all very simple but all looked really good.

Made it all look very professional.

It's all quite funny, really, that people think

that I'm qualified to tell them different things.

It's amazing the things that you do know

and you can help people with, but you don't realise.

You'd never realise that that was the case.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you.

Jo Wheatley!

APPLAUSE

Do you have a top tip, a top baking tip that you could share with us?

-Just always use the best ingredients.

-Always use the best ingredients?

And take time. Because if you rush things,

they genuinely don't work as well.

I think the reason that my baking was so good,

when the boys were little, to get away from them

I used to wash my kitchen floor, wash myself into the corner

-and tell them they couldn't come in and just bake.

-Fantastic!

-What's the next year got in store?

-I don't know. Watch this space.

Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Jo Wheatley.

Thanks, everybody. Thank you.

Jo has also found a way of spreading her baking knowledge even further.

-Hi, Jo.

-Hiya. How are you?

-I'm good, thanks.

-Good, good.

Oh, it's nice and warm. Fantastic.

I was so excited when I was told that I was going in Bake Off

because I was going to have a recipe in a cookery book, you know,

It was like, "I'm going to get a recipe in a cookery book!"

And now I'm going to have 120 recipes in a cookery book.

And it's mine. And I'm going to be on the front and, you know,

I never, ever dreamt that I'd be able to have my own cookery book.

I'm here today because we're photographing the food

and then we're going to go over the measurements and things,

then they'll be photographed for the book. It's really exciting.

-Oh, wow.

-Oh, fantastic.

-That is...

It looks stunning. Put paper underneath it.

She's still very, very humble and she said to me yesterday,

"I can't believe this happened. I still keep pinching myself, going,

"When am I going to wake up from this? Surely this isn't my life."

We were looking around yesterday and she was all dressed up

and she just looked really comfortable and natural

and I think she's slipped into this role without getting

any kind of ego or big ideas. She's really lovely to work with.

I sort of thought I'd get a baking school from doing Bake Off

if I did OK in it,

and all of a sudden I've got the baking school,

I've got personal appearances that I'm doing.

Now it's the book. It's just...

It is truly unbelievable.

I literally wake up in the middle of the night and think,

"Is it really real or did I dream it?"

Honestly and truthfully,

I can't tell you how much of a wonderful experience it's all been.

-It looks amazing.

-It's now about that big.

THEY LAUGH

I thought we were going to just eat our way through 120 recipes!

It was really a learning experience for me.

Every week, I felt that I was learning something.

And in life, I think that you should try different things and learn,

you know, there's always a different learning experience out there,

and if you don't take that chance,

then you can just be safe all your life

but never have these amazing experiences.

It's really just taught me to be a bit more risk-taking

and adventurous and go for things that you really enjoy.

Cos I really enjoy baking.

APPLAUSE

It was quite an emotional experience,

I think because it's something that we love so much

and we want to share with people.

I was so amazed to get through and taking part every week

and competing with people who are seriously talented,

I was so proud. It was stressful

and it was emotional, of course it was.

But, overall, it was just such a laugh as well.

Taking part in the Great British Bake Off was a fantastic experience.

It really was. It's hard to put into words.

I do highly recommend that people sign up for anything like this,

even if it's a local fair or a fete or a food festival.

Just have a go. Go and try and get a rosette.

Every single person in that top 12 should pat themselves on the back,

because we all did phenomenally well.

We have come into this competition...

good bakers and I think hopefully we've left far, far better bakers.

Entering the Bake Off, right back at the beginning,

filling in the application form was the best thing that I ever did.

Taking part was exciting, intense, exhilarating, funny.

There were highs and lows. But I wouldn't have changed a minute of it.

I think I learned a lot about myself as a person

and it's gone down as part of who I am, part of life's experience.

I think it has probably made me a bit stronger.

And a bit heavier as well!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd