'Gadget Gran' Nancy Birtwhistle wins Great British Bake Off

Nancy Birtwhistle, who beat bookies’ favourite Richard Burr, won with a windmill cake designed to look like the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

16:53 09 October 2014

Nancy Birthwhitle, who has been dubbed as “Gadget Gran” because of her penchant for using homemade implements to perfect her bake, won the Great British Bake Off beating bookies’ favourite Richard Burr to be crowned the Britain’s best baker.

The 60-year-old grandmother-of-eight moulded her brandy snap using a hand-crafted “drainpipe tool.”

She explained: 'Tim made me this gadget because I wanted to be able to mould my brandy snap around something. I said 'Make me a drainpipe or something.' I think it's a drainpipe.'

At the time, judge Mary Berry said the cakes were a 'sheer joy' to look at and praised her ingenuity, saying: 'Your little gadget for cutting them in half worked really well.'

For her grand finale, Mrs Birtwhistle created a spectacular windmill, designed to look like the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret club in Paris.

She said: ‘You’ve got to think burlesque, and red and black, and can-can. Sort of sinister.’

During last night’s final, she said: 'I let the machine do as much work as I can because I haven't the strength to pummel it about.' She joked: 'These men have got lots of muscles so they can pummel the dough around. I think I should be given an extra half hour.'

She added: 'There is nothing so scary as the final, and I didn't know if I would be able to cope with it, but I was fine. I have never been tested to that extent, or had that pressure before, but I realised I could be pretty stoic about it all.'