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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Scott Bryan and Michael Chakraverty

The Great British Bake Off 2020: final – as it happened

Paul and Prue grill Laura in the Bake Off final.
Paul and Prue grill Laura in the Bake Off final. Photograph: CHANNEL 4

That’s all from us. If you fancy keeping in touch, you can find me here and Scott here. See you next time!

Mango-ver and out x

Yes, thank you to all of you people reading and commenting on this liveblog. Michael and I have been overwhelmed with the nice comments, feedback, jokes and observations (and mango related puns). It has been a pleasure and we hope to see you all very soon.

Thank you everyone for following along with our riotous rambles over the past 10 weeks. It’s been a joy sharing those sweet sweet mango highs and those white chocolate lows with you all. Where else could I publicly flirt with Northern Irish contestants and complain about limited challenge instructions? Well, Twitter I suppose. But it just wouldn’t have been the same.

Updated

Well, I’m blubbing away like a baby. What a lovely little montage, and a thoughtful tribute to Luis, a finalist from the 2014 season who passed away a few weeks ago.

This has been a tough year, but all through this crisis I’ve felt that TV can be a thing to keep us going, offering a lift and a distraction from all of this endless monotony.

Bake Off has been one of those shows. Despite all of the baking ups and downs these past 10 weeks and the obligatory criticisms, how amazing is it that there was even a Bake Off to begin with?! A thank you must go to the production crew, the hotel staff, the catering and security, the people at Channel 4 as well as the bakers … all of whom left their homes and loved ones, just so Bake Off could air as normal this year. It must have taken an extraordinary amount of effort, especially when it would have been so easy to cancel the show this year.

Updated

JEEPERS CREEPERS! He actually did it! In the tensest Bake Off final the show has ever had, Peter just managed to beat Dave with his impressive Bake Off Bubble Showstopper.

And what a deserved win it was too. His bakes were impressive, but the thing that shone through most was Peter himself. From tweaking recipes so that his gluten-intolerant brother could enjoy his bakes, to injecting as many Scottish ingredients into his creations as was humanly possible, what became obvious was that Peter always baked with other people in mind.

If you wanted an example of how great Peter is, just look at him in the final – applauding each baker and smiling whenever they got a compliment from the judges. He also gently brought Paul down a peg or two by reminding us that Bake Off has been on for half of his life. Congratulations Peter!

OKEY KOKEY! RIGHTY HO! RINKY DINK! Silly Billy Peter has won the Bake Off!

The youngest winner we’ve ever seen, and the first from bonnie Scotland (don’t know if you noticed what his heritage was, he didn’t mention it a hundred times). What a sterling effort he’s put in over the weeks – maintaining a cool demeanour while showing a fabulous flair for flavours.

Plus, they didn’t really focus on it but each week at least one if not both of his bakes were gluten-free, which is particularly impressive.

I know it’s between Peter and Dave, but I am really proud of Laura for sticking at it, especially when the going got tough.

Laughing at Peter not being able to say anything when he’s asked how that went.

Between the boys, it’s anyone’s guess who’s clinched it…

God, this is tense. I think Peter might have just pipped it, but honestly, no idea...

Dave’s cake is “delicious” and “beautifully light” according to Paul, but his babkas are “too tough.” His choux buns are too flat, too. They also have too much of a wet filling (side-eye to camera). Two of his bakes receive glowing reviews – the other two do not.

A bold move from Dave to re-do all of the bakes that he’s struggled with over the course of the series. Looks like it’s paid off, mostly.

According to the judges Peter’s bake was a “little dry,” but the blackberry is “delicious” and the choux is “nicely baked.” However, his friands (I had to Google these – no idea) are disappointing and “stodgy.” A “good effort,” so Dave could clinch it if his bake tastes better. But his one is a risky one.

If you’re wondering whether anyone has dropped their bake while transporting it from their table to the judges, it happened once on the Belgian version.

As always, Laura’s actual *bake* is really great in terms of textures and flavours. I hope she can see that she’s done herself proud.

The Final Judgement.

Laura’s looks like all the bakes stacked together, but visually it looks a bit random ... not gonna lie.

Couldn’t agree more. Leave Mr Spoon in 2020.

They’re all hugging. Isn’t it funny how in any other year seeing people hug would be normal, but here it means so much more.

Never forget Karen who brought crisps. AND YES PETER!!! Managing to move his tower carefully onto his stand in the final moments. That was a tense one.

Dave is on a real snack attack isn’t he? Strong Karen-from-2018 vibes.

Dave continued his tradition of finishing early. He’s also asking Laura and Peter whether they need any help completing their own. Even in the final. I love this show.

The look of abject fear on Silly Billy Peter’s face as he stacks his tower has REALLY made me laugh and I’m not sure why.

Dave feels unshakeable.

I’m really rooting for Laura to do herself proud.

Guests are arriving. Unlike previous years where the picnic consisted of all the previous bakers getting in on the gin, the only guests who are able to make it are the production team and hotel staff ... who are most likely getting in on the gin.

I know we saw pictures of these bakes earlier on, but I can’t picture what any of these towers are going to look like.

I feel that we have seen nothing but Peter freaking out about battenburg biscuits instead of any other part of his bake for the past ten minutes, which is concerning.

SILLY BILLY KLAXON!

OKEY COKEY KLAXON!

JEEPERS CREEPERS KLAXON!

“When it grows, it stretches out”.

Dave is talking about his craquelin. Why, what did you think he was talking about?

“Allowing myself to get a little bit stressed out”. Same, Peter.

These dramatic drums are SOMETHING ELSE.

Pete seems to be in his element. Oh wait, no he isn’t!!

Omg Peter just necked a tea as a salute to Rowan.

Matt asks Dave: “Are you going to have a holiday after this is all over?” *stares longingly out of the window*

Quite. I’m not sure his definition of ‘insanity’ is correct, either. Sounds like one of those facts your dad tells you because he read it on a crisp packet.

No Christmas tree on Peter’s Instagram, but look what I found in his bio.

Dave is baking all of the bakes that haven’t worked for him. That’s … a risk, isn’t it?

It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been listening to Christmas songs since July, and my tree went up this weekend.

P.S. If you haven’t already, listen to Jingle Bells by Barbra Streisand. It’s deliciously chaotic.

Peter is going to bake a giant Christmas tree as his Showstopper because OF COURSE he is. BRB checking his Instagram to see whether he has put his tree up yet.

So the final Showstopper appears to be … all the other Showstopper challenges? Sure, OK. Top it off with a cake bust – I DARE you.

The final Showstopper? A colossal dessert tower, showcasing their Bake Off experience.

So basically, a pile of baked stuff. If they include rainbow bagels I will weep harder than Peter’s meringue did.

“Can Laura win?” asks Matt. *MASSIVE THUNDERCLAP OUTSIDE*

I see your Rubiks Cube and I raise you Elmer the Elephant

This virtual Rita Ora Godzilla advert weirds me out every time I see it.

I think it’s safe to say that Laura won’t be a winner, but look at where we are now … the top two seem to have flipped. Now I reckon Dave is leading, with Peter just behind.

Here is where we are after the technical. Third: Laura (“it just wasn’t quite ready”), second: Peter (“didn’t manage to get definition in the swirl”) and first is Dave (“they were absolutely delicious.”)

“Lovely crack”. Thank you Prue.

This technical feels like the tightest it’s ever been – they’re all nearly there, just a couple of criticisms between them. It’s also made me very hungry..

Despite being disappointed at his own attempt, Peter is congratulating the others: “They look insane you guys, well done.” What a man. 💖

Laura’s using “a quick seeding method”. No comment.

“The marshmallows should be covered in a coat of crisp chocolate,” says Matt in the voiceover, “which can only be achieved with precise heating and cooling.” *cue Dave whacking his chocolate in the microwave*

Peter’s meringue, like all of us in 2020, is weeping.

Peter is looking at the instructions: “Assemble. Must have taken her a long time to write that up.” Such dry sass from Peter. I love him.

Well, Dave piping little ganache turds will be an image that will stay with me forever.

Ohh no Laura! The whisks on the KitchenAids (shock! a branded item!) don’t touch the bottom of the bowls, meaning that small quantities of egg white can’t be whipped up – hopefully Laura thinks to whip it by hand...

Last week Mr Spoon said that he wanted to see Peter naked (no, really). This week Mr Spoon said that every winner has kissed him. Anyone got the number for HR?

She has to make a coffee-infused ganache: “I genuinely don’t know how to make coffee,” she says. “Hot water?”

I know there are other things going on here, but look at the grass outside?! PARCHED.

Elsewhere, we have a spin-off emerging: Laura v coffee beans.

It’s 35 degrees in the tent. Not that that has put off Peter, whose “toasty walnuts smell toasty and walnuty.” I now want him to win.

Prue wants “whirly whirlies”. One hopes she is not referring to the Collins dictionary definition of “whirlies”.

Oh, I Googled it. It’s an abbreviation of “technique”. This is like when my friend described something as “peak” which, to my surprise, does not refer to the pinnacle of brilliance but rather something that’s a bit crap.

Peter also hopes he has “the tekkers required”. What does that even mean? Can anyone from 1901 help me?

The final Technical is a Walnut Whip!

Except they’re calling it a Walnut Whirl, which is entirely separate and distinct from the branded treat.

Laura has had “a bad morning” according to Prue, even though her bake tastes delicious. Even though there’s never an *official* ranking after the Signature, from Paul and Prue’s judgements I think it’s fair to say the standings are Peter, then Dave, then Laura.

I reckon the issue is more that they couldn’t make any tweaks in between episodes – plus the gruelling schedule. They’ve baked every single day for six and a half weeks by this point. On camera. In isolation. During a pandemic.

Do you think the fact that all of the bakers have practiced less, because of everything, means that there’s more chance of things going wrong?

I’d like to put Peter and Dave’s bakes into my stomach immediately. Preferably via the mouth, but I’m not fussy.

Noel is now comforting Laura: “You know Björn Borg the tennis player? The reason he was such a good champion is that he could forget anything, so the next point was all he would think about.” Who would have expected this part of 2020 to consist of Noel dishing out motivational advice from a Swedish Grand Slam tennis favourite?

RELEASE THE CRANACHAN!

Has Laura been in the freezer for the whole advert break? She’ll be freezing.

Laura responds on twitter:

DISASTER! Laura’s custard has not set, falling apart the moment it came out of the tray. And now she’s literally crying in the freezer.

Damn these tense violins! Given that we already know Laura cries into her freezer, I’ve got the fear this isn’t going to go well...

OKEY KOKEY KLAXON

Noel has his head in a cake cloche. I can hear the Ofcom complaints rolling in already, like when he was in the fridge.

I like how Mr Spoon has come back for the third week in a row.

I think we’re near a full house and it’s not even the first ad-break yet...

Oh look, it’s Okey Dokey Peter’s Gluten Free brother! And his mum, who really pronounces the “o” in oven.

Updated

Lovely that Peter is doing a Scottish-themed Signature. All we need is for him to do an Extremely Christmas-in-July Showstopper.

I don’t want to talk about it.

I DO want to talk about the 400ml of lemon/yuzu juice that Laura’s adding to her custard … that’s a lot of acid to add to something containing gelatin … gulp.

It also sadly means that we won’t get favourites like Rowan and Lottie getting smashed on gin at two in the afternoon. How drunk did you get last year at the final Michael?

For 2020 reasons, none of the previous bakers, or the finalists’ family and friends are able to make it to the final. We also haven’t got the awkward backstory films this year – instead, awkward video messages!

Dave: “You don’t want to add too much gelatin”

Laura: *unfurls a wad of gelatin thicker than my arm*

Freezers: tick! Gelatine slices: tick! Who else is holding out for a mention of that sweet, sweet mango?

“The resistance is in the custard”. Paul’s pitching the Star Wars sequel nobody asked for.

Updated

Eight custard slices for the Signature!

They have two and a half hours. Paul warns that the custard must be “SET.” He says that the uses of the fridges will be “CRITICAL.” It’s all very dramatic.

Rinky Dink Peter is the Bake Off’s youngest ever finalist. He is the same age as the Millennium Dome, the Playstation 2 and the Jim Carrey Grinch film.

Going into the final, here’s where we stand. It is the closest Bake Off has been in years. Everyone has won Star Baker once, apart from Peter who has won Star Baker twice. However, like we saw with Hermine’s unexpected exit, all previous weeks are ignored when deciding out the winner is *throws all my charts into the bin*

REMEMBER FREDDIE MERCURY THE PRINGLES CAN MAN? What a moment.

At one point or another this year, haven’t we all cried into our freezer?

I don’t want to watch Laura crying into a freezer. I also hate that we see what happens before it happens.

Before we start tonight’s episode, I thought you should know that David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones has finally caught up with the first episode.

The earliest mango klaxon of the season?

Anyway, now that that’s out of the way, here is last week’s episode as a quick recap:

We haven’t got Hermine in the final. A shame I know, considering that her bakes were some of the best this season. But we shouldn’t blame Laura for this outcome. She’s done some fabulous bakes too. Besides, imagine an alternative Bake Off final between Rowan, Hermine, Lottie and Mark. It would consist of Lottie and Mark saying “burger off” to each other, Hermine mentioning that her Showstopper was inspired by something she saw in Slough, while Rowan panic drinks tea and fails to finish his Showstopper on time.

Five weeks ago, Linda presented samosas for a cornish pasty challenge, and only four weeks ago my heart was torn from my chest as Northern Irish Mark (of the accent and the hair) was declared the casualty of Japanese Week while Paul celebrated his hundredth episode. Three weeks ago, Head Girl Lottie was presenting a chocolate puddle to the judges, and it was just two weeks ago that Hermine created the showstopper to end all showstoppers…

Which brings us to last week…

Well, well, well. It’s been nine weeks since we met Sura, walking her cat. Eight weeks since we were introduced to mangoes, the most heavily leant on prop in Bake Off history. Seven weeks since Paul declared war on the LGBT community through the medium of bagels, and six weeks since we discovered that 90 minutes wasn’t enough time to make a decent brownie.

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