Great British Bake Off final: Cambridgeshire’s Ian Cumming loses to Nadiya

It wasn’t just the people on TV crying, either..

Ian said of Nadiya’s victory: “She is the deserved victor”.

Adeeba Malik CBE, of the West Yorkshire-based QED Foundation, which specialises in ethnic minority-focused education, employment and training, says it might just prove to be a watershed moment.

“We are really happy for her and her family”.

“Number one she is obviously a fantastic baker”.

Tea and a slice of cake may be a quintessentially British image and there are as many ways to be British as there are cake recipes as Nadiya demonstrates so well.

“‘I feel I can call myself a good baker now, as I have moved on from cupcakes and sponges”. She is changing perceptions.

It’s been such a pleasure to be at home, and I have the luxury of being at home to look after my children and I enjoyed that so much.

As an advocate for British Muslims you can’t get much better than Nadiya, who was born in Luton to a Bangladeshi family. PM David Cameron, passionate about the Bake Off show, had betted on Nadiya, saying she was “very calm under pressure”.

The trio, who have made it through two months of baking challenges to reach the final, were tasked with making iced buns and a “classic” British cake in the final which aired last night on BBC One. While the meticulous stay-at-home Dad Ian – arguably the other big favourite to win – took star baker in the first three weeks, Nadiya came bottom of the technical challenge in week one. In April this year she announced she was gay on Twitter and also hit back at the trolls who suggested there was chemistry between her and judge Paul Hollywood.

“[But] I really hope I have not become known more for my facial expressions or my eyebrows than my baking”, she said.

“I am carrying on with my nursing, but would also like to take a patisserie course and get a few kind of qualification working with chocolate”.

Overall, the finale was surprisingly emotional at times, with even Mary Berry choking up before she quickly scampered away from the camera. “I’m never going to say ‘I can’t do it”. By the end I don’t think I could have carried on any longer.

Last night’s win will undoubtedly do the same for Nadiya.

The Great British Bake Off returns next year.

“I think that is the most powerful message to come out of it”.

She is the first to finish her elegant and spectacular cake, which puts everyone in awe!

“I wrapped it in many layers of brown paper, put it in a suitcase and hid it under the bed in case anybody saw it”, she said. The feedback I have had reveals how accepting people are of different cultures and religions.