Bake Off fans react as Welsh nurse crowned winner despite thinking it was 'game over'

Fans of The Great British Bake Off have been left stunned as Georgie Grasso, "the very first Welsh winner," was crowned 2024 champion.

After a nail-biting series hosted by Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding, contestants Georgie, 34, Christiaan de Vries, 34, and 20-year-old Dylan Bachelet were the last bakers standing.

For their first challenge in the tent, the finalists were tasked with creating scones. They later had to entice the juges with an afternoon tea ensemble. And for their last challenge the bakers were tasked with creating an elaborate hanging celebration cake.

With tensions running high, Alison announced: "This is the bake between winning or losing."

As the pressure continued to mount, Christian, Georgie, and Dylan began to show signs of nervousness as they remained under the watchful eye of judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith as well as hosts Alison and Noel.

For fan favourite Dylan who had been riding high in the competition so far, things went awry as he struggled with the consistency of his genoise sponge in the final round. This led fans to believe that Christian, who remained cool under pressure, could snatch the win from his grasp.

Meanwhile, Georgie was also faced with challenges of her own for her final showstopper, as she appeared to forget what she was doing. Heading to the back of the tent, Georgie asked out loud: "What am I doing here?" What did I come over here for?"

Despite her confusion, Georgie emerged victorious after three hair-raising challenges. For her show showstopper, Pru branded Georgie's cake "absolutely delicious," as both Pru and Paul agreed that it looked spectacular. However, some viewers were left confused by her win and headed over to X to share their thoughts.

One viewer said: "How on earth has Georgie won?" Another said: "I'm happy for Georgie BUT Dylan is probably the best contestant this show has ever had. Such a weird result."

Another expressed: "Even with my Welsh bias, I think Christiaan should've won that. My money was on Dylan at the start, but unfortunately, he chose to morph into the wonderful Lucy Beaumont for the final. Congratulations to Georgie though."

But other fans were pleased for Georgie's success, with one writing: "Bravo Georgie, well done!" Another also echoed: "Go Georgie… well deserved Welsh winner."

Children's nurse Georgie, who lives in Carmarthenshire, said her final showstopper was "the most challenging bake I’ve ever done". She confessed: "When I saw the brief, I thought, game over.

"It took a lot of thought and planning to be able to make it work. I practised about three times. I really wanted the judges to get a true reflection of me in the bake, with my colours and flavours. The most stressful element was by far the construction along with the time."

As a mum of three, she also spoke about how much of a sacrifice it was to remain in the competition. She shared: "I've had to put the family on the back burner which has been really hard. I've had to tell the kids 'no' a lot."

The Great British Bake Off is available to watch on Channel4.com.