Sorry Mary Berry, you let the wrong woman win Bake Off, says SANDRA PARSONS
- Final was as tense as it was confusing
- Appeared to be a two horse race between Ruby and Kimberley
- Frances was criticisied throughout for her 'style over substance'
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As a devoted Bake Off fan, my adoration of Mary Berry knows no bounds. But on Tuesday night my faith in her collapsed faster than an over-beaten sponge. Because the wrong woman won.
The final was as tense as it was confusing. The annoying but undeniably talented Ruby produced a wedding cake that could have been knocked up by a 12-year-old.
Meanwhile, the almost as annoying but consistently excellent Kimberley presented a pie that was nothing short of a shambles.
Worthy winner? Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood thought Frances Quinn deserved the 2013 Great British Bake Off title
As for Frances, to most of the nine million of us watching, she didn't appear to be in the running for the Bake Off crown. It was a two-woman race and there was only one question: had Kimberley ruined her chances with that terrible pie?
So, when the sainted Mary announced that she had 'a winner in mind', I felt nothing but quiet relief. Naturally, she would know who should win.
(As for fellow judge Paul Hollywood, I'm afraid I can no longer respect his judgment since he left his wife for a bit of fondant fancy). Mary, however, is another matter.
Like her similarly kind, but no-nonsense namesake, Mary Poppins, she is practically perfect in every way. So, how could she have got it so wrong?
Style over substance: But her wedding cake was undeniably the best when it came to appearance
The final three await the verdict: It appeared to be a two horse race between Ruby, centre, and Kimberley
Frances Quinn is charming and unassuming. Or at least that's how the BBC production team chose to present her - just as they must have decided Ruby would be the Tearful One and Kimberley the Confident One.
And Frances is certainly creative. A clothes designer, her artistic skills were evident from the start.
Indeed, by episode five, her canapes (cunningly made to look like carrots and mini cauliflowers) were so astonishing that Paul decreed they were of professional quality.
But Britain's best non-professional baker she ain't.
Surprise: Frances' victory shocked many viewers
What's more, I'd lay odds that there are dozens of women in every town in Britain who can bake more flavoursome cakes and pies. Throughout the contest, the criticism from both judges - Mary in particular - was that Frances produced 'style over substance', with bakes that looked fantastic, but tasted less so.
Yes, her wedding cake decoration was vastly superior to Ruby's and Kimberley's disappointingly home-spun efforts.
But it didn't taste better - and as both of them had beaten Frances in the previous two rounds, not to mention all but one of the previous heats, making her the winner was a travesty.
If the Great British Bake Off can be won simply by a prettily decorated wedding cake, then all is lost for a programme that's become the nation's favourite precisely because - unlike most other reality shows - it has valued substance above all else.
In fact, Mary Berry must have been as quietly appalled by Ruby's frequent tears as she was by Kimberley's show-off behaviour.
Despite her withered left hand (from childhood polio) and the tragedy of her eldest son's death in a car crash aged just 19, she has never been self-indulgent or self-pitying.
She's also modest, despite knowing more about cooking than an entire chef-filled Bake Off tent.
So, perhaps the real reason why Frances won is simply that she was less irritating than the other two contestants.
As for who should have won instead - oh dear, I was afraid you'd ask me that...
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