There aren’t many things David Cameron and I agree on, but it turns out we’re both backing Nadiya Hussain to win tonight’s final of the Great British Bake Off.
Of course, one of the reasons the show is so darn addictive is that its wily producers never fail to serve-up a fantastic cast of characters for us to cheer and boo as applicable. This year has been no different, with as watchable a final three as we’ve ever had.
Let’s take a closer look at the runners and riders.
First up is Tamal Ray, the endearing trainee anaesthetist with a talent for unusual taste combinations, who often runs out of time. Early on the likeable doctor shared his modest ambition to be star baker just once. When he finally achieved it, you got the feeling this was as important to him as passing his medical exams. Bless. He’s unlikely to win, though, unless he finds a way to put the other two finalists to sleep.
No, the real competition is between Nadiya Hussain and Ian Cumming.
Nadiya is nothing short of a phenomenon. As well as being one of the most ambitious and creative bakers the programme has ever seen, the 4ft 11 bundle of energy from Luton’s Bangladeshi community has also done more to promote multiculturalism in the last 10 weeks than successive governments have managed in the last 10 years.
Witty, tenacious and in possession of the most hilarious facial expressions on telly, the headscarf-wearing young Muslim has grown in stature and confidence as the competition progressed. A real contender. And surely a future TV star in the making.
Only Ian, the posh househusband from Cambridgeshire who won star baker three weeks in a row can stop Nadiya winning what is rightfully hers. As you can tell, I’m not an Ian fan. He's like a younger version of Jeremy Corbyn: harmless and no doubt well-meaning but too worthy, smug and humourless to be likeable. And just a wee bit on the creepy side.
I rolled my eyes when Ian announced that the guinea fowl eggs he was using came from his own hand-reared birds. Yes, of course they did, Ian. I rolled my eyes when Ian’s hand-crafted chocolate well worked just as he’s condescendingly explained it would. I rolled my eyes when Ian explained how much he enjoys collecting roadkill to fill his pies. If he wins, my eyes will probably roll right out of my head.
C’mon Nadiya, you can do this. David Cameron knows you can. I know you can. Stick it to Ian and his hand-reared guinea fowl. My eyes need a rest.
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