Baking smashes Arsenal as GBBO Queen is crowned on BBC Two
After 10 grueling weeks, Tuesday evening brought sweet relief to many baking fans as their magnificent new ruler was finally crowned on the finale of The Great British Bake Off (BBC Two, 8pm).
In a change from series three’s climax, yesterday’s final tier of passive competitive whisking was an oestrogen-induced affair as Ruby (perennial teenager), Kimberley (focused like a fox) and all-round lovely children’s character Frances stepped into the quaint white tent of horror.
Last night’s culmination of the many weeks of frantic whisking and pastry-induced crying – sprinkled with a general sense of all round amiability – marked the final time BBC Two’s golden crumpet would air on the channel that spawned the successful format. A victim of its own phenomenal success, the twee exercise in creative competition is scheduled to move into the big leagues come 2014, with BBC One deeming it worthy to sit alongside The One Show.
After the expected impressive standard of their signature and technical challenges, the trinity of star bakers crumbled under the pressure of the Showstopper Challenge, with fawn-eyed Ruby making an edible decoration balls-up of her own mediocre wedding cake.
In the end, the tension produced by ill thought-out cake designs reached a feverish level, with last night’s coronation bringing in 2.3 million more viewers than John Whaite’s victory last year. In total, a whopping 8.4 million viewers watched as a stunned and speechless Frances Quinn was named the ruling victor in the lush greens of the HD countryside, generating a 33% share.
Not only was this the day’s biggest audience but also BBC Two’s biggest audience in over a decade, no mean feat for the alternative channel.
Beforehand BBC Two caught up with last year’s contestants, who seemed to be dealing with the whole life thing a hell of lot better than their reality show counterparts. The Great British Bake Off: The Class of 2012 (7pm) – the equivalent of preheating the oven before the main event – was watched by 3.3 million excited viewers and a 15% share.
Perhaps the genteel obsession can become the new national pastime, with kids across the country bothering parents for the latest season’s patisserie kits. It certainly seemed that way last night as viewers pledged their allegiance to Mary Berry, turning their backs on Arsenal’s group stage match in the UEFA Champions League (ITV, 7:30pm) against Borussia Dortmund.
In total, a little over 4 million viewers watched the entire two and a half hour coverage as the German Sports club handed Arsenal a whooping in a 2-1 victory. Naturally, audience interest peaked towards the end of the match with 5.5 million people watching Robert Lewandowski’s winning goal.
Elsewhere, the soaps ruled the early evening as Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) once again beat EastEnders (BBC One, 7:30pm), as the once news-worthy outcome slowly turned into the de facto result.
Emmerdale saw 6.6 million viewers tune in for a slice of rural charm, resulting in a 31% share. The scenes of Paddy attempting to break the news of his liaison with weathered town bike Chas may have helped the soap lock in the day’s second biggest audience.
Straight up afterwards on BBC One was another installment in the never-ending cycle of happiness that is EastEnders. Trailing slightly behind its main rival, the London soap managed to bring in an audience of 6.4 million viewers as Ian Beale – surely the sorriest creation in the history of fiction – had yet another fairly rubbish day. The master of misery’s culinary catastrophe netted a 29% share.
Overall BBC One seemed to dominate the top ten, despite its little sister grabbing the top spot. The latest medical mayhem in Holby City (8pm) was watched by 4.1 million viewers, while Nick Knowles held his own in the 9pm slot as DIY SOS: The Big Build (9pm) secured an audience of 5 million viewers.
Channel 4 was on hand to offer something a little more titillating at 9pm as national-treasure-in-hoping Michael Sheen continued to hang out in a brothel, all in the name of scientific research. The third episode of period drama Masters of Sex fell to a limp 677,000 viewers and a 3% audience share.
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