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There were tears and there were also levels, although thankfully not of the Covid type of restriction. After 10 weeks, 30 rounds and a biosecure bubble, The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4) reached its climax with a remarkably tight finish. There was so little to separate Hampshire security guard Dave Friday and University of Edinburgh student Peter Sawkins that it would be difficult to slip a sheet of filo between them.
In the end, Sawkins surpassed him to become the youngest Bake Off champion at just 20 years old and the first Scottish winner of the contest. It was the correct result. Affectionately dubbed “the baby-faced killer” by co-host Noel Fielding and “Perfect Peter” by his rivals, he has been consistently excellent throughout the series, reaching this final as a bookmaker favorite and reigning Star Baker.
The rapid improvement on Friday was close, but it fell short. With his intense gaze and unabashed competitiveness, Friday would have been a divisive champion. On the contrary, Sawkins was impossible to dislike. He is also part of the “Bake Off generation” who have grown up watching the show. He first put on oven mitts at age 12, inspired by the series. Silver-bearded judge Paul Hollywood sighed indulgently at the age Peter made him feel.
The third runner-up, the chaotic Laura Adlington from Kent, just made it to the final after too many messy bakes. Too predictably, it was ruled out early here. His custard slices didn’t get hard. His nutty twists either. After a disastrous day in the sweltering tent, temperatures reached 35 degrees when it was filmed in August, Laura cried with her head in the fridge. Its flavors were always delicious, but its delicacy just wasn’t up to scratch.
As the boys battled for the coveted glass cake stand trophy and the title of Britain’s best amateur baker, the momentum shifted first one way, then the other. Peter’s custard slices were superior, but Dave’s nutty twists won out. Even in the decisive round, each produced a tiered dessert tower in which two items were near perfect and two were flawed. Hollywood and Prue Leith said it was the closest decision yet. For once, this didn’t seem like gratuitous hyperbole.
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