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Matty Edgell was crowned the winner of this year’s Great British Bake Off on Tuesday.
In Tuesday’s grand final, Matty beat off stiff competition from fellow finalists Dan, 42, and Josh, 27, to triumph in the choux pastry signature bake challenge and the celebration cake showstopper.
After host Alison Hammond announced Matty winner of the show, Dan and Josh ran up to him to give him a hug.
Matty said: ‘People said I should go on Bake Off and I never really listened to it. I never thought I’d get on it, let alone win it!’
He added: ‘There’s been so many ups, there’s been so many downs. There’s been so many times when I’ve had to be pulled through it by the people around me… It still doesn’t feel real.’
Matty Edgell was crowned the winner of this year’s Great British Bake Off on Tuesday after impressing with his showstopper
Dan said: ‘I had a feeling Matty was going to win… I’m so happy for him.’
‘Without a shadow of doubt I was the official underdog throughout the series so I think everyone was surprised when I made it to the final and then won it, including me,’ he said after his win.
He added: ‘I hope GBBO might just change my life a little bit, but being a PE teacher is something I really enjoy at the moment.
‘I loved being in the tent and another of my happiest life moments was when I got engaged in Sorrento to my fiancée Lara.
‘I am not sure what’s next for me, but my next big baking project is making our wedding cake. I am just going to keep enjoying it.’
Talking about being crowned star baker during chocolate week and party week, he said: ‘I don’t think the power of being star baker can be understated.
‘It was a huge confidence boost for me in week four as the imposter syndrome was in full force at that stage.
‘Being told I was star baker gave me a bit of reassurance that I probably needed.
In Tuesday’s grand final, Matty beat off stiff competition from fellow finalists Josh, 27, (pictured)
Matty beat Dan (pictured) to triumph in the choux pastry signature bake challenge and the celebration cake showstopper
‘Getting it again on party week was also really important for me, again, giving me the confidence I needed going into the semi-final.’
Judge Prue Leith said she had never met a ‘more cheerful , smiling uncomplaining and willing baker’ who just ‘had such a good time’ and learnt ‘as much as he could’.
Post-doctoral research associate Josh, who was crowned star baker during the semi-final show, said the final was like three friends ‘entering the tent for a final time’.
The 27-year-old from Leicestershire said: ‘The nerves were actually all right.
‘I was just so proud of myself and the journey I had made en route to the final, with so many bakes behind me, there was really nothing to worry about.
‘Like every other week, I mounted a lot of pressure on myself to try and deliver the best bake I could on the day and be proud of what I’ve made.
‘Throughout the series it never really felt like a competition.
‘All 12 of us are winners just making it to the tent itself. We all know the journey we made to get to the tent so when it came to actually baking, it was just like baking alongside your best friends.
‘For the final, it was exactly the same – three friends entering the tent for a final time.’
Civil engineering resource planner Dan, from Cheshire, said the final ‘felt really surreal’.
‘Knowing I had actually made it this far, never did I imagine it happening, it was such a proud moment for me and my family,’ the 42-year-old said.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Matty’s baking ability that made an impression on this year’s Great British Bake Off, he also appeared to have made quite an impact on new host Alison Hammond.
Some viewers believed Alison, who made her debut in the tent this year alongside Noel Fielding, was enamoured with Matty and had spent the series flirting with him.
The Cambridgeshire-born PE and science teacher certainly seems to have won the affections of the This Morning host, who viewers believe has a crush on him.
Alison, who is single since splitting with landscape gardener Ben Hawkins earlier this year, was said by those watching at home to be so taken with Matty that they compared Bake Off to a dating show.
‘Alison and Matty are in love and I cannot blame them,’ said one viewer, while another wrote: ‘Alison coming on to Matty is better than any dating show we’ve ever watched.’
Meanwhile, one fan says he hopes that the This Morning host, 48, and Matty have a future together, saying: ‘When they do the “What the contestants have been up to” segment, I hope Matty and Alison have run away and opened a patisserie in the south of France.’
Aliso’s flirtations with Matty became a talking point not just for viewers but also those who worked on the show.
One insider said: ‘When it was recorded earlier this year, we all knew that the chemistry would become a thing.’
Alison isn’t the only one to take a shine to Matty – the show’s fans have also been smitten.
One wrote: ‘Sexy Matty having the best sausage rolls… Matty’s sausage wins.’
GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2023: WHO ARE THE CONTESTANTS?
Tasha
Age: 27
Occupation: Participation officer
From: Bristol
Bake Off presenters have learnt sign language as the show welcomes its first ever deaf contestant.
Tasha, 27, is a participation officer from Bristol and will be joining the show with her BSL interpreter, Daryl.
She said: ‘When I had the Zoom call to tell me I was one of the 12, I cried. Daryl also cried. We were a mess.’
Amos
Age: 43
Occupation: Deli and grocery manager
From: North London
Amos describes his bakes as a labour of love – his style is colourful and chic with keen attention to detail, and he loves exploring different flavour profiles.
He compares his baking style to the converted church that he now lives in, calling both his style and home ‘traditional with a modern twist’.
Rowan
Age: 21
Occupation: University student
From: West Yorkshire
‘Go big, or go home’ is student Rowan’s motto, and one that he has always applied to his bakes.
A student of English literature, when he’s not writing up a storm, Rowan is also a keen host, applying his creative eye to his cooking.
Abbi
Age: 27
Occupation: Vegetable grower and delivery driver
From: Cumbria
A lover of the great outdoors, she forages for seasonal ingredients and puts her homegrown veg to good use.
Abbi’s bakes aim to combine comfort and familiarity with a strong nod towards nature, and a feeling of creating something magical – bakes with a touch of fairytale.
Cristy
Age: 33
Occupation: PA
From: East London
For Cristy, life with four children means that there always seems to be a birthday to bake for and an exciting party to plan.
She describes her baking style as enchanted and pretty – bakes that conjure up a sense of childhood.
Dan
Age: 42
Occupation: Civil engineering resource planner
From: Cheshire
Perfectionist Dan loves a baking challenge and will often find the hardest bake in one of his 300 cook books.
When he’s not baking, he loves to play football with his two young sons or forage for edible treats in the countryside.
Dana
Age: 25
Occupation: Database administrator
From: Essex
She loves a semi-naked cake with neat lines, pretty piping and minimalist decoration; and although she likes to keep her flavours safe, Dana will often incorporate a twist or two, adding in familiar spices associated with her Indian heritage.
Josh
Age: 27
Occupation: Post-doctoral research associate
From: Leicestershire
Post-doctoral research associate Josh is a chemist by trade and brings his scientist’s precision and keenness to experiment into the kitchen, taking careful notes on each part of the baking process.
Keith
Age: 60
Occupation: Chartered accountant
From: Hampshire
Keith has a penchant for apple pies and fairy cakes – which he learned to bake with his mum.
The treats form the baking backdrop to Keith’s childhood, along with his mum’s love for traditional dishes from her home in Malta.
Matty
Age: 28
Occupation: PE and science teacher
From: Cambridgeshire
He describes his style as rustic but neat, and his flavour preferences as quite traditional – he particularly loves chocolate, citrus and nuts.
Once his days in the tent are over, his nex challenge will be to make his own wedding cake.
Nicky
Age: 52
Occupation: Retired cabin crew and volunteer
From: West Midlands
Her favourite bakes are pastries, but she also loves making fun birthday cakes for her niece and grandchildren.
When she’s not baking, Nicky volunteers for a pet-therapy charity along with her dog Bracken and loves to ski, which she has been doing since she was only three years old.
Saku
Age: 50
Occupation: Intelligence analyst
From: Herefordshire
At her family home in Sri Lanka, Saku didn’t have an oven until she was 18, so she turned to baking only when she moved with her husband to the UK, in 2003.
Self-taught, she relishes using her homegrown ingredients from her vegetable patch.
