Great British Bake Off: How The Mighty Fell At The Final Hurdle
We thought it was a done deal, but GBBO’s first BBC1 final proved to be a surprisingly even battle… So was the winner really a surprise?
He was Star Baker five times, unheard of in the history of The Great British Bake Off (GBBO), but though we thought Richard Burr had the competition wrapped up in baking paper, his fellow finalists Nancy Birtwhistle and Luis Troyano really stepped up to the (cake) platter last night.
GBBO has settled nicely into its new home on BBC1, with a whopping 10 million of us tuning in every week – so the pressure was really on the baking trio to give viewers a nail-biting final.
And Richard, Nancy and Luis couldn’t have been closer as they entered the most famous tent in the sort-of-sunny West Country for the final time.
With the nation watching, the fearless trio took on their final three challenges under the watchful eye of judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry. By the end of the night, the duo were in an agreement that there was only one winner. And boy, this was a final full of surprises.
Nancy was the ultimate dark horse going into the final. The first Star Baker of the series, she had undoubtedly always been one of the strongest bakers, despite having struggled with some of the challenges throughout the various weeks. However, by the end of the episode there was only one possible result. In the words of Mr Hollywood: "Nancy absolutely nailed it"
Tipped for third place by the bookies, it was easy to think that this was going to end up being a closely-fought bake-off between Richard and Luis.
Oh Richard. The clear favourite, having won Star Baker a record five times, crumbled under the pressure as things got tense in the tent. As the signature challenge progressed, it was obvious that the London builder was not in the zone at all. It was a frustrating end to his remarkable journey.
"How the mighty have fallen..." Paul remarked, clearly as taken aback by the twist in proceedings as viewers were.
Many of those who watched will be asking if Paul and Mary made the right choice in punishing Richard for his failure to deliver one last time.
Should the Bake Off Champion not be the most consistent throughout the competition? Surely his record number of weekly wins had earned him the title, no?
The issue was briefly touched on during the BBC Two sister show An Extra Slice, when Paul said that, as it always has done, the result came down to the performance in the three set tasks. Based on those, dry-witted Nancy was not to be beaten.
Unfair? Perhaps. However, Richard did have his struggles. He came dangerous close to exiting the competition in week six, when by a stroke of luck, no one was eliminated due to Diana's shock withdrawal.
The three had fought on a weekly basis to earn their place in week 10. A clean slate was the fairest way to determine who should take the title.
But the shock result won't come as a surprise to regular fans of the show. It was only last year that Frances Quinn stunned everyone by triumphing over favourite Ruby Tandoh. When it's all to play for, anything can (and usually will) happen!
With Richard crumbling, the stage was all set for Luis to sweep in and dazzle with his visually-stunning masterpieces. I'd long pegged the graphic designer as the dark horse, and fully expected him to be the one to provide a 'shock winner'.
However despite being proved wrong, I was pleased with the overall turn of events. For some reason, I had not fully connected with Luis and his bakes like I had done with his rivals. Paul and Mary were naturally full of praise for his Poynton-honouring pièce montée, but it wasn't enough against Nancy's French-themed, windmill-spinning delight. Paul and Mary had their hearts set on a champion.
And it’s refreshing that a down-to-earth pensioner from Hull can be the nation’s champion, proving granny’s cake’s still where it’s at, and bake off is still true to its roots.
With Nancy covering many of the front pages today, I have no doubt that there will be a couple of days of "shock" follow-up headlines to give "outraged" fans even more reason to complain about the five-year-old format. That, after all, is the new-found power of The Great British Bake Off.
We couldn't let the series draw to a close without a final tribute to the effortlessly wonderful Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. The glue that hold this delicious hour of TV together each week. Where else on a Wednesday night can you revel in their weird and wonderful word of ridiculous puns and bonkers accent, encouraging the contestants to "get hasty with your pastry" and "get on it like a Jane Austen bonnet"?
The gingham altar may have been packed away for another year, but with Norman working on his autobiography (yes, that's another thing we learned last night), perhaps the wait for series six won't be so long after all...
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