S07.E10: The Final

[Athena]

Quote

It is the final, and with just three of the original twelve bakers remaining. The theme for the final is a Royal Bake Off, as the tent plays host to three challenges to impress the Queen.

The last signature challenge sees a return to meringues, a challenge that a few of the bakers stumbled over in week six.

For the technical challenge, Mary has made a simple bake very, very tough, as she has only given the bakers one recipe instruction. The rest is down to them. It may be a very British classic, but with no measurements, this is the ultimate test of the final three bakers' intuition.

Then on the final day, as the bakers' families gather outside the tent, the finalists face their last showstopper. This is the most complex one ever seen on Bake Off, and there are the most bakes ever requested in a challenge. With only one oven, it's five solid hours of baking for the finalists to prove they deserve the winner's trophy.

Who will be named the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2016?

[Occasional Hope]

I think it's really open this year.  Jane is the most consistent, but maybe lacks that little sparkle you need to win.  Both Candice and Andrew can shine, but are also prone to making serious missteps - not that Jane is immune from those, and she's been looking more flustered in recent weeks.

Anyone can win, and it will almost certainly comes down to the showstopper.

[OnceSane]

Congrats to Candice!  And you were right @Occasional Hope, it came down to the showstopper.  Loved seeing that Jane & Candice are planning a baking road trip together.

Good season, but just not the connections I felt with last season's contestants.

[pfk505]

I was pulling for Andrew but Candice deserved it. Her reaction made me like her more, and also Dennis was trying to steal the show. Another great season of this great show, so sad it will be the last in this format.

[xqueenfrostine]

I don't think there's ever been a finale where there's been less suspense for me over who the winner was going to be.  I didn't come into the episode with a clear feeling as to who would win, but Candace outbaked her competitors by such a large margin in the final challenge that it was absolutely inconceivable that she wouldn't win.  Her chocolate cake was probably my least favorite visually of the 3 (which is surprising as I usually love the look of Candice's bakes.  I didn't even hate that green citrus meringue pie that everyone else was so hard on!) but she didn't have any of the technical errors that Jane and Andrew did.

I love that Jane and Candice are going traveling together!  I've enjoyed their obvious friendship over the course of this season, so I'm delighted that they're still friends.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I had such conflicting feelings as this episode began. As always, I was excited to see who would win. But I was also sad because this is the last episode of the GBBO as we know it. I'm staying positive though since it sounds like Mary, Mel, and Sue plan to do some version of a show together!

On a shallow note, I loved Candice's red lipstick.

I am neutral on meringue so I wasn't super excited about the signature challenge.

I was not at all surprised that Jane's red, white, and blue pavlova is her husband's favorite. She was smart to choose something that she's made before. All three of her layers sounded good to me. Raspberry and strawberry are always a winner for me, I like blueberry, and I was super excited about the white nectarine layer. I'm not really familiar with these crowns, so I wasn't sure why Paul said it was simple. What would be considered a fancy crown? Then I saw what the other two bakers made and realized why Paul said that Jane's was simple (but then he ended up liking it!).

OF COURSE Candice decided to make two different kinds of meringue! I like that she is always trying to do more, but that's because she always manages to finish on time. If she were consistently not getting her bakes done within the time limit then I would want her to pull back and simplify, but she's organized and she has a finished product at the end of each challenge so I'm fine with her being ambitious. I love strawberry and mango so I was excited to see how her crown turned out. Loved how impressed Jane looked when Candice removed the arched meringue from her mold. Mmmm, mascarpone, double cream, and vanilla. I would eat a whole bowl of that by itself. The crown overall looked like it was slightly crooked, but that might have been the camera angle. The way she tiered the four layers was much more interesting to me than Jane's three identically sized layers. I turned out beautifully.

Andrew's caramel cassis crown with praline definitely looked much more structurally impressive than Jane's. Bonus: I loooooove blackberry and caramel! He also gave himself an extra challenge by using muscavado sugar so I was worried about whether his meringue turn out well. Oh, Andrew, I use parchment paper so that it doesn't matter which side of the paper I put face up! I liked that he used the blackberry to contrast with the sweetness of the caramel and meringue. Loved the jellies he made too. I bet those were delicious.

Ha, I had to laugh at the complete lack of directions for the technical challenge. "Make the Victoria sandwiches." Nice to see Andrew do so well to make up for being the only one not to get the Hollywood handshake during the signature. I liked that it meant all three of them were neck and neck going into the showstopper (and it didn't feel fake the way it does on Hell's Kitchen).

Man, they had to make A LOT of stuff for the final showstopper. But I felt like because there were so many small things they had to make, there wasn't a lot of opportunity to make the final presentation look like a showstopper. I hope Paul and Mary had empty stomachs beforehand because they had to taste so many different things.

It's a shame that Jane left her chocolate collar in the freezer a few seconds too long so that she couldn't get it to stick to the cake. Would it have helped if she had put a piece of parchment over the top and rubbed her hands on top to warm the chocolate just enough to get it to stick? I thought that she did a good job coming up with a last minute solution. I liked the surprise filling inside too.

Loved Andrew's color-coded spreadsheet! He had a lot of problems with his pastry with too many different elements (too thick, undercooked, soggy bottom) so I knew he wouldn't win. His cake was beautiful though. It was the best looking of the three final cakes.

Candice seemed to get high marks for everything in her showstopper so I was sure she would be declared the winner. The only negative thing they said was that they couldn't taste the cheese in her scones. I have liked her from the beginning and she did well in the finale. What she made this week looked good AND tasted good, which is the goal.

One of the things I love about the finale is having everyone's friends and families there to cheer them on at the very end. I always wonder how they get everyone to keep the winner a secret (especially after last year's betting scandal). I also love the updates on what everyone has been up to since the finale. Loooove that Candice and Jane are planning a baking vacation together. Selasi had a viewing party at his house for the finale and all the other bakers were there, which just made me go awwwwwwww.

[Kostgard]

Congrats to Candice! I agree that it was pretty clear from the beginning of the episode that she was going to win, but it was still enjoyable (and her reaction was adorable). I laughed at the moment when her family came running up to her, including her pug, who...ran right past her and into parts unknown. I mean, clearly they got him/her back, but I just cracked up at her family running up to embrace her and her dog shooting straight past her.

I am also glad that Candice and Jane are still friendly and plan on traveling together. Jane seems like a neat lady and her family is quite attractive (both her kids are rather good-looking). Andrew is adorable. I'm glad he got the technical win after being denied the Hollywood Handshake in the signature. No one completely bombed, and they should all be proud.

It was all very sad, though, knowing this is the last time we'll have the show in its current incarnation. I'm glad to hear that Mary, Mel and Sue are planning on doing something together. I hope they can recapture at least some of the magic. I'm not really expecting the same thing from the Channel 4 version now - as someone on Twitter said, they paid 75 million for Paul Hollywood and a tent. It's not quite the same thing without all the ingredients.

[Stowaway]

I felt like this season/series suffered from the Project Runway effect, where the talent has basically been harvested, and the field needs to lay fallow for a while. By which I mean: I'm pretty sure any finalist from the last four seasons would have won against these three. I haven't been seeking out GBBO conversation this year as much as I have previously, so I don't know if that's a common observation or not. Excuse me if I've been trite! They all had some serious errors and missteps, considering it was the finale.

I wound up rooting for Candice through the power of the Inevitable Edit, even though Andrew was the "me" of the group (but I so wanted to hug him, for all his fey ginger awkwardness). I thought it was going to be hard to say goodbye to the show as it moves to a new network and becomes a new thing, but honestly, I feel it's ready to go away for a while anyway, for the fallow-field reasons already said. I hate for a show this good-natured and homespun to do an "all star" season, but really, if the show were staying at the BBC, it would probably have been about time for that next time around.

[LaChavalina]

17 hours ago, xqueenfrostine said:

I love that Jane and Candice are going traveling together!  I've enjoyed their obvious friendship over the course of this season, so I'm delighted that they're still friends.

The catching-up segment at the end was as cute as anything, but ending the episode with two of the final competitors sitting at a table and planning a trip together... that was incredibly charming and a great way to sum up the spirit of the show.

[Kromm]

Congrats to Candice for being THE LAST EVER BAKE-OFF CHAMP!  Well deserved!

Okay, not technically the last one. But really... in essence she will be. Whatever follows won't be the same.

[tenativelyyours]

I'm a bit sad to see the end of the series as we know it.  But I also think in some ways the show needed to take a pause or have production take a look at itself.  I thought the field was plenty talented compared to previous seasons.
  What was missing was a good progressive set of challenges that made sense a bit more like seasons 3, 4 and 5 that let the bakers grow as the contest went on.  Nadiya after all was kind of horrid in a lot of the early challenges.  Tamal had a few bumps.

Meanwhile, this season we had Candice with her bar show stopper, Selasi making sponges so fine you could see as Paul cut them to judge how perfect they were baked and Jane winning a well rounded first episode as star baker against those two.   So to have three of the final four shine so well was kind of indicative to the quality being present, not absent.

But we had batter week which was a bit silly.  We had Tudor week.  Even sillier.  I think the show thought they needed to have new and unique challenges and put more emphasis on that than having well thought out challenges that pushed a bit more each week and cut the weaker ones in a more logical manner.  Yes elimination should be weekly and a bit of a gamble.  But there should also be a determination of strengths overall.  Especially like last season where Tamal and Nadiya in my opinion had enough chance to grow and expand and develop the sense of just how the contest was working in general no matter the specific components of each week's time in the tent.

I was particularly impressed with this year's final over last year's.  This was an incredible task they gave the three and for Candice and Jane who both did so well, it had to be daunting and draining.  Same for Andrew of course, but I felt he had a few more mistakes/flaws than the two women did. 

I wonder if Candice and Jane's roadtrip will intersect on the continent with a biking Selasi.  I read on social media that he was the star of the picnic as all the other contestants families wanted to meet him specifically.   Also during his viewing party he had someone laughing so hard at his commentary she was basically crying.  I wondered if it was Benjamina after watching the montage include the two of them cracking up?

 

The show overall also seemed to start out a bit more portentous which made me wonder if Love Productions figured they might as well milk the finale as a sort of "Final" even if they are hoping viewers will move en masse with them.

Paul tries way too hard to be of the moment with his walk arounds.  I wonder if he realizes deep down that for some of devoted fans, if a show with the other three emerges how little we'll care if the moved Bake Off falters?  He probably doesn't care in some sense, but even with the balm of the paycheck, I think the ego is there as well.   Maybe Channel 4 included a backup plan for him if the bake off show finds it lacks the charm without the three charmers , with commercials and already rumors of sponsor driven content?  I'm thinking he could likely been given an extra vehicle to helm to make the deal sweeter.

 

For the particular bakes in the episode.

Not a huge fan of meringue but the combination of the fresh fruit and compotes,  I mean Cumpots (sounds nasty when it falls from the lips of either Jane or Paul) made my mouth water.  I thought Jane's with the simplicity but the height and stability was really impressive.  Candice had a lot going on that had me wonder how it would turn out and it had a touch of a lean to it.  But the details she did were pretty impressive as well.

The technical was so simplistic it almost felt like a bit of a trap.  That Mary and the show knew that at this stage the temptation to do what they did at home might trip them up.  And for Candice it did.   That was an interesting way to craft a challenge.  I was so hungry for a simple sponge with cream and jam it was not funny.  Andrew's really did come as close to Mary's ideal.  Again pretty fine work since the bakes used by Paul and Mary as the template are probably so carefully made it is not funny.

The picnic array reminds me of the tea finale but even more intensive.  Candice's sausage rolls were so well made but I'm not fan of black pudding at all.  So not sure about that.  I don't like rhubarb so her tarts would have been a bit of a miss for me.  Both the quiches she and Jane made looked divine.  It was funny to see rhubarb tarts and quiches with seafood after the Australian Bake Off pastry episode the night before.  I was glad that Jane came through and delivered a pretty impressive cake.  I know someone who is a devoted cake baker and her trick for collars is to chill the cake and the collar itself.  Leave cake in the cooler, apply the design to the collar and then apply it to the cake.  She says there is less chance of running or not coming off.  She also said in such a situation she would have had a pot of hot water on the stove boiling because the tiniest bit of steam might have let Jane freeze her collar the first time she had problems episodes ago when her design was too runny. 

I am so glad I have the Australian show to ween myself a bit more since the break for the next season could be not just long but permanent if they screw it up even more -- again, it might just be me, but I felt there were too many moments of "never before on The Great British Bakeoff" when, for me, this is a show I want to hear "this week its the dreaded....".  I'm not bored because they are doing pies or cakes or biscuits or whatever yet again.  I don't need new twists.  And I suspect that is part of the route Love Productions already had planned out for future seasons going by their mealy self-excusing in the one interview I read.  Something about the best home for the show allowing them to build and offer new ideas.  Yeah.  WRONG.

[xqueenfrostine]

On 10/27/2016 at 8:28 PM, LaChavalina said:

The catching-up segment at the end was as cute as anything, but ending the episode with two of the final competitors sitting at a table and planning a trip together... that was incredibly charming and a great way to sum up the spirit of the show.

Something similar happened at the end of season 6 too as I remember Tamal mentioning that he had plans to have dinner at Nadiya's house in the near future.  But I agree that there was just something about seeing Candice and Jane together at the end that really encapsulated the element of friendship that has been part of what has made GBBO so special. 

[Macbeth]

I am surprised that they showed the finale on the same night as the semis.  There are only 10 episodes - why didn't PBS wait to show the finale next week.  I was about to go to bed when I saw a new episode was airing.

I liked it- I am a late in discovering the show.  And I am sad that the show - well it's not going to be the same. 

I liked all of the remaining contestants  - but I was rooting for Andrew, the underdog.  But Candice has been consistently great all along.  She was fantastic in the Tudor challenge.  So congrats.

[Primetimer]

The bakers create a picnic to kill for in the biggest showstopper yet.

View the full article

[IndianPaintbrush]

Congrats to Candice! Had a hunch she would win, but Jane was a really strong competitor. I really like both of them, and preferred this season to the previous one . I never really connected to Nadiya.

[LittleIggy]

If Andrew wasn't going to win, I'm glad it was Candace.  Her picnic basket looked delicious. I love that her family brought their pug!

[MerBearHou]

Congratulations to Candice.  I was rooting for Andrew, then Jane, then Candice, but I will absolutely give her credit for being a very precise, creative, ambitious, talented baker.  

I just had such a feeling of sadness though throughout this entire Final, knowing it was the last of Mel, Sue and Mary on TGBBO.  They are the heart and amazing humor of this show and it cannot, cannot, cannot be duplicated.  I am so attached to this dear atmosphere and hosts (sans Paul) that I am just so sad it's over.  It's silly to feel that way about a TV show but I do!

So again, very well done, Candice -- it obviously meant the world to her (as we know it would have meant to Andrew and Jane).  Bye, dear show -- thank you for being so unique and refreshing and fun.

Edited August 8, 2017 by MerBearHou
Correcting spelling of Candice.

[hendersonrocks]

It was a satisfying finale - they all did well, but it was clear who did the best. A well deserved winner in Candace, whose genuine delight and emotion afterwards was infectious. And her lipstick & shoe game continues to be on point! 

I am a little bummed that the PBS version - at least on my channel - omitted the updates on bakers now. We had a PBS pledge drive during the episode, so perhaps it got cut (though they also extended the episode by 15 minutes, so I'm not sure that is what happened). I'd love to know where people are now.

[GaT]

I was rooting for Andrew, but as they were judging his showstopper, I knew he didn't win. Oh well, bye bye show, it was lovely knowing you.

[Sew Sumi]

18 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

It was a satisfying finale - they all did well, but it was clear who did the best. A well deserved winner in Candace, whose genuine delight and emotion afterwards was infectious. And her lipstick & shoe game continues to be on point! 

I am a little bummed that the PBS version - at least on my channel - omitted the updates on bakers now. We had a PBS pledge drive during the episode, so perhaps it got cut (though they also extended the episode by 15 minutes, so I'm not sure that is what happened). I'd love to know where people are now.

No pledge breaks here in the Bay Area. I think PBS just cut the "Where Are They Now" bits out of the US version. 

Congrats to Candice. Any of the final three would have been a deserving winner. Candice just had a little better day than Andrew or Jane. TWO HANDSHAKES in the finale. Paul made up for being such a curmudgeon, especially to Jane, most of the season. 

[illdoc]

13 hours ago, Macbeth said:

why didn't PBS wait to show the finale next week. 

Here in Chicago, we start "pledge week" next week, so the show would have been bumped. I assume that's why we got 2 episodes yesterday.

[meep.meep]

On October 27, 2016 at 6:28 PM, LaChavalina said:

The catching-up segment at the end was as cute as anything, but ending the episode with two of the final competitors sitting at a table and planning a trip together... that was incredibly charming and a great way to sum up the spirit of the show.

Could someone who got to watch the catching up segment please recap it for us poor PBS viewers who apparently lose it to another ad for Viking Cruises?

Congrats to Candice!  She did it in a lace dress and heels too!  Extra points for degree of difficulty?

[Lura]

We have a difficult time in our house understanding what the Brits are saying.  Maybe that's why I know nothing about a trip planned by Candice and Jane.  Would one of you be kind enough to fill us in?  TIA.

Toward the end of the run, I decided that Jane was my choice for the title, but I wasn't unhappy when Candice was announced as the winner.  She did some remarkable work (they all did), and she seemed completely overwhelmed about winning.  It amazed me that Jane was elbow-deep in baking at 5 a.m., practicing for the show, and I'll bet she wasn't the only one.  I'm sad thinking that this show is apparently the last we will see of the foursome of Paul, Mary and the two "girls."

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

We have a difficult time in our house understanding what the Brits are saying.

I can't watch without closed captioning.  That's true of most of the British shows for me.

I loved that Andrew was "chuffed" that Candice won. What a sweet guy.  And Jane's sincere "well done" was equally sweet.  Gosh I will miss these delightful people.  I can never watch the trash-talking crap on American TV cooking and baking competitions.

My PBS station had a bunch of commercials as well so the whole Jane/Candice piece was missing.

[dubbel zout]

When I saw Andrew's showstopper, I thought for sure he'd won, because I thought visually his was the best. His celebration cake was stunning with those chocolate shards. But once the tasting began, I knew it wouldn't be him, and it seemed clear that Candice had it in the bag. 

Candice's reaction was great, and I loved that her husband/boyfriend teared up along with her. I love the family visits that we get in the final episodes. Everyone is so proud of their baker.

Overall I don't think this season's bakes were as difficult as in seasons past. I get the logic of saying "bake a Victoria sandwich" and give no measurements or method, but a Victoria sandwich is so basic, especially for a final. The showstopper this time truly was a showstopper, though, and I loved how it required so many different skills from the bakers. 

I don't think anything will top Nadja winning last season. It was so moving in a way that likely won't ever be repeated. When you bring Mary Berry to tears, that's a nearly impossible act to follow.

I watched this episode on the PBS site, and there was nothing about Jane and Candice taking their baking on the road, which is an awesome idea. Boo, PBS!

[Fireball]

I wasn't sure who would win going in to this episode, but after the judges comments I didn't see how the other two could win with having the problems they did with their pastries. I was a bit surprised that the judges didn't make a bigger deal that Candice had overcook her pastry. Also Candice's shoes made my feet hurt just thinking of having to wear something like them for 5+ hours!

[starri]

Maybe it's just because he's the one that I was rooting for, but Andrew winning the final Star Baker and placing first in the final Technical actually meant more.  I mean, I know that's not as good as winning, but he deserved both of them.  Probably more than I would say any one of them specifically deserved to win.  

ETA:  There's no way I'm going to follow this show into its Mary-/Mel-/Sue-less future.  So I am going to miss terribly this magical tent filled with interesting people who are unfailing kind to one another.

Edited August 6, 2017 by starri

[Amethyst]

A few weeks ago, I googled the show to read about the contestants, and the Wikipedia sidebar displayed Candice's name as the current winner.  Whoops.  So much for the surprise.  I made a similar mistake for the final season of Downton Abbey, lol.   But I get it.  I wasn't always a fan of Candice's bakes, but she was consistent throughout.  Congratulations to her!  Her dog was so cute.

Good job to Andrew and Jane, as well.  I'll miss our "gingineer" and Jane's hilarious side eye.  I wish I could have seen the bit where she and Candice arranged a road trip, that would be hilarious.

I will also miss the original cast.  Mary really is the heart of the show, and I can't imagine the tent without Sue and Mel making jokes and encouraging the contestants.  I might tune in to the next season to see how it goes, but it won't be the same.

 

8 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

I can never watch the trash-talking crap on American TV cooking and baking competitions.

Same.   I caught MasterChef the other night and couldn't watch the whole thing.  I'm so tired of the screaming and meanness of reality TV.  This show is a breath of fresh air.

[Broken Ox]

Ha! I had the exact same Wikipedia issue!

[starri]

I was immediately spoiled that Nadia won last season, although her overall arc was still so wonderful it didn't matter.

I avoided spoilers this time like the plague, although I'd found out Andrew made the finals.  Which made his few rough weeks a bit easier to bear,

[AZChristian]

I'm the opposite of you folks.  I google specifically to find out who's going to win so I can watch the editing arc for each episode.  Mr. AZC does NOT want to know, so I love to hear his opinions throughout each episode of who he thinks will be eliminated.

[Mabinogia]

I spoil myself so I'm prepared when my favorite is going to get eliminated. It doesn't hurt my enjoyment of the show because for me this show is about the fun they are having, not so much who wins. I agree that Candace deserved the win, but I'm glad I knew ahead of time so I could be prepared for the disappointment. (I really, really wanted Jane or Andrew to win and I get too emotionally invested so knowing the outcome takes the edge off and I can just enjoy the ride). I find with most competition shows I enjoy them more when I know the outcome. I end up less manipulated by the edits. This show doesn't manipulate the edits nearly as much as others and so I think I would have figured out Candace won a long time ago, actually I spoiled myself because early on I had a feeling she was going to win and had to make sure I didn't get my hopes up.

[MerBearStare]

12 hours ago, Amethyst said:

A few weeks ago, I googled the show to read about the contestants, and the Wikipedia sidebar displayed Candice's name as the current winner.

I googled Candice when the show first started to make sure I was talking about the right contestant and the first results were interviews with her after she won. I would have been rooting for Jane to win, so I'm kind of glad I was spoiled. Candice absolutely deserved to win, though, and I love the friendship between her and Jane. 

[sharifa70]

4 hours ago, starri said:

I was immediately spoiled that Nadia won last season, although her overall arc was still so wonderful it didn't matter.

I avoided spoilers this time like the plague, although I'd found out Andrew made the finals.  Which made his few rough weeks a bit easier to bear,

I was also spoiled about Nadiya's win (thanks to her appearance on The Graham Norton show), but I still found myself rooting for all three finalists, cried when she won, and did the same thing when I re-watched the entire season with my dad (his first run-through) a couple of weeks later.

I'm happy for Candace. I would also have been happy for Andrew or Jane, but Candace really did a beautiful job today and earned that trophy. It is so refreshing to watch a competitive cooking show with contestants who are kind to each other, and supportive, and who don't need to build themselves up by tearing other people down. I am going to miss that.

[Bobcatkitten]

I think Candace is a great baker and clearly was the most consistent and deserved the win. Having said that I'm glad I don't have to watch her anymore. Her pouty lips are off-putting to me. Not natural to have duck lips so often. Is that her natural face? The lipstick just accentuates it.

[djlynch]

I'm just glad that I'm not the only one who wasn't expecting to see Tom's apparent heterosexuality. During the challenge fairly early on where Selasi basically said that he didn't expect to do well because he was too manly for it (lace pancakes, maybe?), the thought crossed my mind that I kind of assumed that he was the only straight man left in the competition at that point.

[Lura]

I feel for those of you who accidentally learned ahead of time who the winner was.  That's always a big drawing card for me.  I felt, though, that Candace was going to come out the winner, so the fact that she did was almost anticlimactic.  I was also hoping for Jane to win, so I'd have seen my ideal series if Candace and Jane were co-winners!  LOL  Do they ever let someone come back the next year?  I'd love to see Jane try again, but with all of that home practice and all of her running around during the final challenge, I imagine she'd still be too pooped to participate!

[dubbel zout]

It cracked me up when Candice talked about feeling like she'd had such a big workout and was in great shape, but in reality her clothes weren't fitting well because of all the testing she'd been doing. Hee.

[chaifan]

I think this was a really well balanced final three going into this episode.  I think any one of them could have been the winner, so it all came out to what happened that day.  I agree with earlier posts that by the time they were doing the final review there really was no suspense left - it was clear Candice did the best on each element of the showstopper.  I was a little disappointed in her chocolate cake presentation, though.  I was really expecting something over the top. 

Are all three challenges in the final filmed on the same day?  It appears so just because outfits were all the same thoughout.  But that would have been 10 hours of baking, with a picnic still in solid daylight.  I am having a hard time figuring out how they do that, and how the finalists are still standing at the end of the day.  (Especially Candice in those heels.  Why would she do that???)

[dubbel zout]

Daylight during the summer in Britain is a lot longer than it is in the U.S.

Edited August 6, 2017 by dubbel zout

[Jesse]

Don't they always wear the same outfits for both days of the weekend? I think it's so they can record talking heads whenever and have it look OK.

[Kohola3]

Quote

Do they ever let someone come back the next year? 

Now, there is an idea for a show.  Have all of the winners from the various years have a bake off!  Maybe the prize could be a cake plate PLUS a knife!

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Are all three challenges in the final filmed on the same day?

It's the same two days -- Signature/Technical on Saturday, Showstopper on Sunday -- as always. They always wear the same clothes both days, as @Jesse said, to facilitate interview segments that may be edited in anywhere. This is pretty standard for competition shows, I think.

Contestants never return for a subsequent competition, but they have filmed a couple of isolated special events in which 4 bakers from various previous seasons returned to compete against each other in a single weekend.

[fib]

I agree that this crop of bakers werent the most impressive: the group that went out in the middle: Val, Tom, Rav? They just never seemed to improve after not wowing early on.  Maybe Rav did, but not enough.   I think Selasi and Andrew improved, but Selasi just wasnt as good as Jane or Candice.  Andrew got close.  Though I think he got star baker in the semis to make Candice seem like less of a sure thing. 

It did somehow lower the excitement each week cause it usually seemed like there was always someone who hadnt been baking to the same level as the others. I think i was only ever surprised twice: once when Benjamina went home, and every week Val hung on.  

Thrilled to see Candice win. She was talented and hardworking and ambitious.  

[magdalene]

I would have been happy for either of the three to win. Congrats to Candice!

I am sad this is the end of the show with that special kind of alchemy. Paul is the one I like the least and he is the only one to carry over.

[andromeda331]

I accidentally got spoiled to thanks to Wikipedia too! I thought maybe that's why the season didn't feel that exciting to me or that its the last season of the show with the four so maybe didn't look as good as all the seasons before. But I don't think that's it. The competitors didn't feel as up to par as the past seasons when it came to baking. So many seemed to struggle and so many of the showstoppers didn't feel like showstoppers.  There were some great people.  The challenges felt like hit or miss Batter Week and Tudor week? Not bad ideas but what they came up with wasn't that exciting. The other seasons were full of cool people who could bake and deliver great looking bakes and this really didn't feel like it. Yes there were great people but not really great bakes. It really more slapped together.  Congrats Candice. 

[Kohola3]

Quote

Paul is the one I like the least and he is the only one to carry over.

I found him so smug and snotty.  The way he was stalking Jane in the final made me want to smack him.  Without Mary I won't watch the new version.

[Qoass]

While I was impressed that Candice could bake in that dress and those heals, I was amused to see that her apron had evidence of a chocolate slaughter by the end.

Love this show. Please, PBS, give us those first two seasons. I don't wanna go to YouTube.

[eurekagirl mOo]

So sad this was the last one ever. We got g***** in the US with no "wrap up" bit at the end. Just another cruise line commercial. Remember when PBS didn't have commercials? 

This show was so civil and FUN! No one with the "I came here to beat everybody by lying and cheating and getting the million". Just lovely people trying there best to win and helping each other. No big prize. No TV show to star on. No money. Just a cake plate!!!! I LOVE that! Loved watching the tea sipping also!! SO British!

Hoping the "new" one is on PBS but I know it won't be the same.

Poor Andrew. If I was the only 1 out of 3 who didn't get a handshake I would have felt bad too~

Congrats Candice!

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, Qoass said:

Please, PBS, give us those first two seasons.

Why not go for the gold and ask for all three of the first (unaired-by-PBS) seasons?