NORMAN Calder is aiming to bring to the nation some nearly lost traditional Scottish fayre in The Great British Bake Off television show.

He is the only Scot among the 12 finalists in this year's series and the son of a baker has picked the brains of some of his father's old apprentices in an attempt to revive recipes on the verge of extinction.

Mr Calder, 66, of Portknockie, Moray, is the second oldest contestant and although his father and brother were bakers, he decided not to follow in their footsteps and joined the Merchant Navy and travelled the world as a radio operator.

He once fell overboard near the Solomon Islands and attempted to swim to shore, only to be picked up by a ship near Papua New Guinea.

Scotland, however, is not his only inspiration in the kitchen. There is also the patisserie of Perpignan, France, where he travels in his caravan, taking his miniature Schnauzer Lucy.

Baking is not his only creative pursuit: There is also clock-making, the clarinet, and the clay scuplture and slab pottery pieces he makes in his studio.

It would seem, then, that although he may make traditional Scottish bakes, they are unlikely to look like any you have seen before.

The new series of the Great British Bake Off starts next Wednesday on BBC1.