Great British Bake Off 2014: We've Not Heard The Last Of Martha Collison

Martha :(

Hands up who didn't feel old, and a little ashamed of their kitchen skills, at least once during Martha's eight weeks in the Great British Bake Off tent? Thought so. Me too. Every week.

Regular blog readers will know that I've been a big fan of the 17-year-old, who made Bake Off history as the show's youngest ever baker.

And while she didn't get the chance to wear the sheriff's badge, what a star Martha was.

She held her own against some seriously tough competition week after week, delivering results even Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry couldn't help but beam proudly at.

Her fellow bakers were right to fear her... this was no ordinary 17-year-old!

Beneath the talent though, was something even more rare on our TV screens these days; a humble, delightfully modest teenager. In an age where the youth of today can be so terribly misrepresented, wasn't it a bloody treat to see someone so young excelling so wonderfully?

Sure, The Great British Bake Off brings us people from all walks of life united in their love of getting busy in the kitchen. But Martha had the potential to inspire younger viewers; this baking lark does not have an age restriction!

As the competition progressed, we did undoubtedly see where experience was benefiting some of her fellow bakers, but Martha kept on smiling. Kind of. When those eyes watered... Well, we hope the Bake Off tent had a few boxes of tissues lying around.

Sadly, last night was where the fun came to an end, as the quarter-final's Advanced Dough week saw several of the bakers face an extremely tough Paul and Mary. And our Martha went out in style... From raw dough to over-proved dough, Martha looked like she had given up before the showstopper had even begun.

But with some AS Levels revision to be getting on with, we're sure she wasn't moping around the kitchen smashing up Nancy's 'Paul' doughnuts for too long. The result was inevitable by the time a saddened Sue delivered the news. But this is The Great British Bake Off, not The X Factor, there was no place for a 'here are your best tears' montage of to send us all off to bed emotionally drained. A reassuring hug from Mel and Sue was all that was needed.

Martha wasn't the 'loser' here, and as Mary said, the future is looking very bright indeed. There is no doubt that name will be cropping in the future. Perhaps Mary has pulled an Alan Sugar and found her new Apprentice... I'm here for a Mary and Martha series, BBC. Just FYI.

If it wasn't already your homepage, make sure to give Martha's very own website a visit - yes, Martha's already got her very own baking website! What did we tell you... this girl is going places! http://bakingmartha.co.uk/

So with Martha packed off backed to the classroom, four remain to battle it out in next week's semi-final. And what a battle that will be.

Last week I looked at Richard's hat-trick of 'Star Baker' wins... and what does he go and do? He goes and nabs it for a FOURTH time. The builder from London is the one to beat.

Can Nancy, Luis or Chetna grab their final opportunity to win it back before the grand final? We'll find out next Wednesday.

Until then, keeeeeep baking. Oops, wrong show.

[Great British Bake Off Episode Seven: Is Richard Burr the Star of the Choux?]

[Great British Bake Off Episode Six: Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood Reach A Shock Stalemate]