Last year’s Great British Bake Off winner David Atherton is putting his dough on young Scot Peter Sawkins to win this year.
Despite only being 20, the fresh-faced student from Edinburgh is the favourite on this year’s Channel 4 series.
And David, 37, reckons he’ll win – because he has the same cool head he had to beat the others in the tent last year.
David, from Whitby, said: “My money is on Peter, as although he’s young, he seems like he has a very mature baking head on his shoulders. He also stays very calm and collected, which is my style too.
“We all needed the positivity that a programme like Bake Off can give. I really looked forward to this new series and it’s good to see it’s got the Bake Off magic even though it was filmed in a bubble.”
David also likes Peter because last year’s winner has a soft spot for Edinburgh.
David credits the experience he gained working in intensive care at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with helping prepare him for anything which, as well as the Bake Off tent, includes working as an international health advisor for the UK aid backed charity Voluntary Service Overseas on hazardous postings in countries like Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
While in Edinburgh he recalled being tasked with treating Theresa Riggi, the American mother who stabbed her three children to death in 2010.
Riggi – who pled guilty to a charge of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility – attempted to cover up their deaths with a gas explosion, before trying to kill herself leaping out their second-floor flat.
David said: “I was happy to care for any patient. To me, it was just my job.
“I loved working in intensive care and although you are dealing with the most extreme cases, you had great resources and so many team members around to help. I benefited so much from working there.”
David’s twin brother studied medicine at Edinburgh University and he decided to follow him up to the capital.
He said: “ I visited a lot and just loved being there. I moved up in 2009 for about three years and worked in intensive care at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at the same time as doing my Masters in global public health at Edinburgh University.
“I think I was the only staff member at the hospital who was allowed to officially come in an hour late, as long as I brought in a massive tray of cinnamon rolls. My baking helped make me popular with colleagues.”
David revealed he wants to start a family after announcing his engagement to partner Nikola Sariyski.
The Yorkshire baker is celebrating popping the question during a romantic trip to Bulgaria earlier this month.
And it’s his time helping children in war zones which has inspired the happy couple to look into starting a family through adoption or surrogacy.
Nurse David said: “We are so thrilled to be engaged and we’d like to start a family, which is obviously harder as a gay couple.
“There are a lot of misunderstandings about surrogacy but there is a lot of support out there, and we are also looking into adopting. I’d love to think we
could give a child the chance of a new life.”
The pair have been together for three years and David revealed they could get wed in Scotland, where they both used
to live.
He said: “Nik left Bulgaria aged 18 and came straight to Scotland, where he studied at St Andrews and then lived for a time in Edinburgh. When I lived in Scotland, I was at one of Nik’s friend’s weddings years before we met.”
He added: “If it’s good enough for Madonna to get married in Scotland, then who knows?”
David’s engagement caps a wonderful year which saw him win the Channel 4 baking contest and recently release a children’s book called My First Cook Book.
But he hasn’t let the bright lights of fame stop him from continuing his work with VSO. The charity’s Volunteering for
Development programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), enables British volunteers, including teachers, doctors and nurses to help tackle poverty and inequality across 23 developing countries.
And he confessed his hopes to start a family are making him feel less gung-ho about his foreign adventures. He said: “The scariest time was being evacuated by British special forces in a Hercules from the Ivory Coast. There were bombs going off and the windows smashed in our house.
“I’ve always been very adventurous but perhaps, now that I’ve settled down with someone I love and want to start a family, those kinds of things terrify me.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I am pleased David has continued his amazing work with VSO following his success on Bake Off.
“The UK Government is proud to support volunteers from across Britain and beyond really make a difference in helping combat poverty and inequality around the world.”
Bake Off is on tonight, Channel 4 at 8pm.
