Whisks at the ready! Three Bake Off contenders set to battle it out for the title in tonight's final
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It has been a turbulent few months of soggy bottoms, Twitter tantrums and tears - lots of tears.
But now the end is in sight - and the much anticipated final of The Great British Bake Off will air this evening.
In preparation, we take a look at the last ladies standing.
Finalists: From left to right - Top bakers Ruby Tandoh, Kimberley Wilson and Frances Quinn
At the beginning: The 13 participants in the fourth series of the show with presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins plus judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry
The tearful novice
Ruby Tandoh, 21
Dry your eyes: Ruby Tandoh
Who is she? The eldest of four children from Southend, Essex, with a brain to match the good looks which saw her become a model in her teens.
She spent a year at King’s College, London, before transferring to University College London to study philosophy and history of art.
She is still close to her parents (from time to time helping out on her father’s allotment) and maintains she has been baking for only two years, having never made bread or pastry until last summer.
She lives in a student house in south London and says she brought her baking up to scratch by revising all day, then slaving away in the kitchen until 2am. She would then set an alarm for 5am so she could get her bread out of the oven.
Strong suit: Her looks. The most visible of this year’s GBBO contestants, not least because of the camera’s tendency to linger on her delicate features. So obsessed are her male fans, one has created a shrine on the internet entitled: ‘The many faces of Ruby Tandoh.’
Weak spot: Apart from her tendency to burst into tears, her appetite. During GBBO, she would put on 3lb a week tasting her practice bakes, then lose it all in the stress of filming at the weekend. Not, as she rightly points out, a healthy way to live.
Bake for victory? As well as bursting into tears, Ruby is known for her looks and her Twitter tirades
Favourite: The History of Art student from South End is odds-on favourite to win the series - much to the annoyance of many GBBO fans
Quote of the series: To a detractor who accused her on Twitter of being unable to handle criticism: ‘It’s not real criticism though, is it? It’s the unfounded, unfiltered, lazy ranting of a bitter old witch. Do pipe down.’
Odds: 6-4
The confident cookie
Kimberley Wilson, 30
Confidence is key: Kimberley Wilson
Who is she? A self-made woman who can seemingly turn her hand to anything.
She was raised on benefits in Haringey, by a mother with multiple sclerosis. Her mother’s disability prompted nine-year-old Kimberley, who has an older brother and a younger sister, to teach herself how to cook. Never one to underestimate her talents, she has penned a ‘philosophy of baking’ and confesses that she wrote in a childhood diary that she saw herself as a young Adrian Mole, adding: ‘I think I may be an intellectual.’ Only she misspelt intellectual.
As her mother’s condition deteriorated, she found solace in baking and excelled at school, becoming the first member of her family to go to university.
A BA in Manchester was followed by postgraduate work at Roehampton University and the Tavistock Institute. She is now a chartered psychologist, as well as managing the psychology service for Holloway Prison. Her dream is to own a not-for-profit cake shop which organises parties for children who can’t afford them.
Strong suit: Determination. The same guts that saw her through depression in her teens, during which she was referred to a counsellor and resolved ‘One day I’m going to do this better than you’, have driven her through the series.
Tiny treats: Kimberley waits anxiously for Paul and Mary Berry to pass judgement on her bakes
Tough challenge: The baker from Haringey during last week's technical challenge
Fabulous four: Kimberley, second left, is known for her determination and confidence - which can be a little overbearing from time to time
Weak spot: Over-confidence. She wants to win so badly you can taste it.
Quote of the series: ‘No dish is an island. Home cooking isn’t about stand-alone meals with “one night only” ingredients then left to desiccate (sic) at the back of the cupboard, or spawn new life in the salad drawer.’
Odds: 11-8
The slow burner
Frances Quinn, 31
Design savvy: Frances Quinn
Who is she? Raised by bookshop owners in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, snaggle-toothed Frances has been a slow-burner on GBBO.
According to her parents, her talent is inherited. ‘Her grandmother, who died before Frances was born, was the most wonderful baker and I’m convinced that’s where she gets it from,’ her mother Deirdre told the Mail yesterday. ‘Frances has been baking since she was five years old and she’s incredibly creative.’
Frances puts that creativity to good use in her day job, as a designer for fashion brand Joules.
With a BA in textile design from Nottingham Trent University, she has also designed clothes for the likes of Marks & Spencer, Primark and George at Asda.
Work has taken her to Vancouver and London but she is now settled back in Market Harborough, where she lives alone near her parents.
Among her recent designs for Joules is a two-piece romper suit, in regal red, blue and gold, following the birth of Prince George.
Strong suit: Her incredible sense of style, which means that, however underdone her creations are, they always look impeccable.
Triumph: Frances' posh canapes featured in last week's semi final, went down so well that she even earned a handshake from Paul Hollywood himself
Ever the style queen: Frances' selection of canapes looked like a veritable garden of treats
Weak spot: Cannot cook without her own equipment. During filming, she would lug two Ikea bags stuffed with ladles and cookie cutters on the three trains from Market Harborough to Bristol.
Quote of the series: ‘My key ingredients are … a dollop of randomness, a teaspoon of wonder, a pinch of eccentricity, a drop of serendipity, a handful of curiosity, a fluid ounce of fun. All mixed together with quintessential quirkiness to produce a deliciously different bake.’
Odds: 5-2 outsider, before a flurry of betting prompted bookies to suspend bets.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2471171/Great-British-Bake-Off-contenders-set-battle-title-tonights-final.html#ixzz2iTgPJhpO
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