Despite disastrous final challenge research scientist triumphs in Bake Off
Rahul Mandal has been named winner of the Great British Bake Off after a bumpy path to the final.
The research scientist, who has struggled with confidence throughout the series, beat Ruby Bhogal and Kim-joy to triumph in the competition, despite a disaster in his last challenge.
Rahul, 30, who moved to the UK from India as a student and now lives in Rotherham, had to restart his showstopper after the 32C heat in the tent caused a storage jar on his workbench to shatter, sending glass everywhere.
He began recreating his rock garden landscape dessert, featuring buttercream plants, choux rocks and chocolate orange mounds, from scratch after throwing away anything that might have shards in.
Judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood ultimately gave him extra time at the end of challenge to make up for the 15 minutes he lost.
After he was named the winner, he said: “This is probably the first time that I have got something like this, like a trophy.
“I talk so much, most of the time, and I just don’t know what to say now. I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry, I just feel I need to talk with my mum.
“What’s next for me? I am going to start learning how not to say sorry so much… sorry about that.”
He later admitted he thought the glass breaking signalled the end of the road for him in the competition.
He said: “It broke into a thousand pieces and went in everything so it all had to be chucked, it almost broke me and I really thought that was it for me.
“Fortunately I was able to prove that I could finish it.” Earlier in the episode Rahul impressed the judges with his doughnuts in the signature challenge, despite never having eaten one before the competition.
After crowning Rahul the overall winner, Leith said: “I think the amazing thing about Rahul and why I am so proud of him is that he came in unconfident, but he just kept going, and he never reined in his ambition.”