Sophie burned through savings… despite winning
GREAT British Bake Off winner Sophie Faldo says the show was bad for her bank balance.
Last year’s champion, who quit her €48,000 job as a captain in the Royal Artillery in 2012, admits she had to rely on her chef partner David to get by during 2017 – despite her triumph.
“I earned very little and ran out of savings,” she said. “I like to have a stash fund for emergencies. I went through that during Bake Off.”
Asked how much she earned last year Sophie, 34, from Byfleet, Surrey, admitted it was “very little”.
Bake Off, which moved to Channel 4 for the first time last summer, does not have a cash prize and Sophie said that last year was the closest she had ever come to feeling hard up.
“I did rely on my other half a bit and it was tough. It was not a typical year – far from it.”
After leaving the Army, the graduate in psychology had been working as a ski instructor in the Alps, but entered Bake Off after returning to the UK and setting up as a personal trainer.
Her victory on the show has led to two internships at Michelin-starred restaurants and she wants to set up a cookery school – as well as train to be a stuntwoman.
“I’m still educating myself on the business side of things,” she said.
Sophie added: “I do worry a bit – I am freelance and don’t have a guaranteed income.”