YANNIS LEAVES THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF

Yannis became the fifth contestant to leave The Great British Bake Off after Dessert Week on Tuesday 20 October. Presenters Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding announced his departure at the end of the Channel 4 programme. Connie won Star Baker after impressing judges Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson with her bakes. Yannis said: “I grew up watching this programme and being here for five weeks is surreal.”

The contestants began with self-saucing puddings in the series’ first staggered-start signature challenge. Hammond and Fielding called out their names to begin, so contestants could not seek guidance from one another during the challenge. Lawson then introduced a technical challenge that required each baker to choose ingredients from The Gingham Pantry. They had five minutes to collect what they needed, with no further chance to retrieve anything they had missed. For the showstopper, the contestants made an array of traditional retro puddings.

Yannis, a paediatrician born in Vienna who lives in London, embraced the other contestants after the result. He said he would be proud of his time on the programme and called it “absolutely wonderful”. He named hugging Lawson and Hollywood as his standout moment in the tent, adding: “Forget the cakes — I think I’d already won at that point…” Applications for the programme’s 18th series are open online. Channel 4 airs The Great British Bake Off on Tuesdays at 8pm.