“Her ideas, flair, her emotions and her passion were all in her bakes, she just nailed the whole final”.
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After 10 weeks and 30 challenges, including Black Forest Gateaux, Spanische Windtorte, Flaounas and a wobbly Charlotte Russe, the 30-year-old mother from Leeds beat fellow finalists Tamal Ray and Ian Cumming to take the crown. Tamal also appeared to let the stress get to him, which may have not only cost him the title, but caused many adoring fans to cry into their pillows as well.
“We’ve seen a significant surge in demand for our Wham Cook bakeware range, especially our non-stick and enamel baking tins, and when you look at the figures it’s incredible how closely they correlate with Great British Bake Off”.
Featured Image: jamieanne via flickr.
“I think they’re heroes”. Later I was asked how I was feeling in an interview, but I felt I didn’t have the vocabulary, it was all a bit of a fog.
“I practiced so much at home before the final, right through the night and even in the morning before I was going to catch my train I squeezed in another practice”.
Well wishes begin to flood in for her from social media as well. In last night’s final she won a tricky technical challenge (Paul’s favourite mille-feuille or “thousand layer” pastry dish) before triumphing with a saree-themed wedding cake, which she was inspired to make after her cake-free wedding in Bangladesh.
Nadiya, now loved for her facial expressions as much as for her baking, said: “At the very end of the filming I took the cake out to my family’s table and we all had a slice”.
Ten million people tuned in to last week’s semi-final – the biggest audience for this series up to that point.
“I can be quite self-deprecating”, she said.
Upon finding out she is the glorious victor, Nadiya can not contain her happy tears and is lost for words in front of the camera!
This sixth series of the GBOB has been the most succesful yet averaging 10 million viewers per show and with just an enough collapsing cakes and slovenly trifles to keep people glued to their seats.
For her final show-stopping piece in the finale she made a cake decorated with a sari in the blue, red and white of Britain’s Union Jack.
It was a forgetful weekend for Ian, who puzzled over his showstopper curry carrot cake mixture – before realising: “I forgot to put the oranges in with the mixture!”
The show has had its share of scandals too, such as when one of the contestants chose to trash his Baked Alaska when the ice cream failed to set.
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She told BBC Breakfast: “It feels like I’m reliving that moment again”.
