Who'd have thought banjaxed Baked Alaska could cause such a stir? After Nancy Birthwhisle's Great British Bake Off victory last night, we review the highlights of the series
After weeks of proofing, kneading, folding and drizzling, and one unforgettable moment of melting, this year's Great British Bake Off has finally come to an end and Hull's own Nancy Birtwhistle, the gran with a plan, has taken the title.
The 60-year-old triumphed over fellow finalists Richard Burr and Luis Troyano – the tension in the tent apparently getting to them while Nancy simply glowed in the heat of the ovens, well, she did have a working windmill to cool her down afterall.
Now she's out of the kitchen and perhaps preparing to cook up a new career in baking, we take a look back at the stiff-peaked highs and soggy-bottomed lows of the last few weeks. There have been triumphs, tears and a teenage baking prodigy. Not to mention very boozy doughnuts and much to Mary Berry's horror, some shop-bought fondant icing. Here are the unforgettable moments of series five.Bingate
Never before has a retro dessert dish been front page news, or a bin had its own hashtag on Twitter.
A cold war broke out in episode four, when Diana was shown removing Iain's lovingly prepared ice-cream from the freezer during the Baked Alaska showstopper task.
The bearded baker dumped his retro dish in the nearest dustbin and stormed out of the tent, and the nation was left reeling in shock.
In the furore that followed, Watters found himself on Newsnight, while 69-year-old Diana claimed she had been stitched up by bad editing.
The whole drama made last year's "Custardgate" (when Howard Middleton's custard was accidentally used by another contestant) look like a storm in a trifle bowl.Diana's exit
At the height of the Bingate debacle, it also emerged that Diana had left the show. The home baker revealed she hadn't "wimped out" and quit over the controversy, but had in fact suffered a bad fall.
Diana's doctor even entered the fray, writing a letter to a national newspaper to confirm her account. ![bodiana1]()
Dr Kieran Redman said: "Not only has she been unfairly accused of wrongdoing by the media, but she has lost her senses of taste and smell, due to a freak accident.
"In my view, if ever there were a reason not to take part in a reality TV show, here is a sound one."A fondant farewell
As crimes against humanity go, buying ready-made fondant icing isn't high up on most people's lists.
But when Enwezor revealed he was using the shop-bought variety for his rocket showstopper in Biscuit Week, Mary couldn't hide her disgust (despite the baking queen previously admitting she buys filo and puff pastry from the supermarket).
Sure enough, Enwezor didn't make it through to the next round.Norman's simple pleasures
From his farthing biscuits to his unadorned Zula boats at dawn, retired Merchant Navy radio operator Norman Calder was delightfully no-nonsense.
While other contestants were faffing around with gold leaf and working against the clock to add Heston Blumenthal- esque trimmings to their creations, our Norman stuck to what he did best, plain, honest bakes. ![bonorman]()
Until episode five, that is, when he heeded the judges' calls to be more exotic and threw some pesto and lavender into the mix.
It wasn't enough to save him sadly, but amateur potter Norman isn't one to mope. He's joined Twitter and has already notched up more than 12,000 followers.Marvellous Martha
While other teenagers are busy sulking in their bedrooms or taking their 200th selfie of the day, you'll find Martha making chocolate ganache chess pieces and injecting home-made doughnuts with passion fruit curd.
The 18-year-old prodigy started baking aged seven, and managed to juggle competing on Bake Off with studying for her AS Level exams.![bomartha]()
She also displayed a healthy disdain for Paul Hollywood's finicky comments, which she channelled into bashing a rolling pin or pounding some bread dough. We predict great things from this rising star.Trailblazer
We only had eyes for one creation during pastry week, and it wasn't the contestants' eclairs or pasties. No, the real star of week seven was Mary Berry's stork print jacket.
This brightly-coloured M&S bomber set the screen alight, and sold out hours after appearing on the show.
Other notable jackets included The Berry's hot pink biker jacket in Pies and Tarts Week, and her snazzy floral blazer in the Desserts episode.Mel and Sue's innuendo
From dough balls to hot baps, no baked good is safe from Mel and Sue's pun-loving clutches. This series, it seems the pair have taken the smut to new levels, telling the wholesome contestants to "pop Mary's cherry ... in the oven", and to "stop nuzzling your princess (cakes)".
Some viewers took exception to the Carry On-style gags, and a handful even wrote to the BBC to complain. But after the ![bomelnsue]()
European episode, Sue insisted the criticism didn't bother her, claiming: "It's the European Parliament's ruling on our 'Dutch' accents I'm dreading."Microwave Nancy
It takes a brave baker to stand up to Paul Hollywood, but Hull- born Nancy isn't afraid to challenge the blue-eyed assassin's criticisms.
Nancy, who left her east Hull and Hessle roots for Barton in 1999, saw judge Paul Hollywood brand her decision to microwave her fruit loaf dough to speed-up the proving process as "dangerous".
And when Paul – brilliantly referred to by Nancy as "the male judge" when his name slipped her memory – questioned her use of the microwave to prove her dough, she replied: "Well, needs must." As for her irregular coloured doughnuts? "They all look all right to me."
Nancy has said she loved every minute of The Great British Bake Off experience and we have loved watching her for moments like this.Cocktail hour
Remember Mary's look of glee when she spied Luis's boozy, cocktail-themed doughnuts? The "everything in moderation" mantra she normally applies to cake-eating went out the tent window when she was presented with a tray-load of the Baileys-laced treats.
And was it just us, or did everyone in the judging tent look a bit glassy-eyed after trying out the potent concoctions? The judges
Paul Hollywood, whose steely gaze can be more cutting than words, was more forbidding as he stalked the Bake Off tent, while Mary Berry, with her gentle manner and colourful array of jackets, was always more forgiving. She was the kind to his sometimes cruel, always finding the good in an anxious contestant's fare, even if the blue-eyed boy of bread has simply branded it a "bad bake".
As the Great British Bake Off reached its culinary climax, Hollywood, 48, told a magazine he would beat Berry hands-down if they went head to head in their own Bake Off challenge, but the slim and trim Berry, 79, retorted that she is better than him at cakes.![bopaulnmary]()
Both cooks' fame has been fanned further since the show began four years ago, moving this year to a prime BBC One slot because of its popularity. They are said to have a firm off-screen friendship – Hollywood says he is looked after like one the family if he pops by at the Berry household, whole Berry says she is full of respect for the bad-boy baker.
Where Berry is winning is in book titles – she has more than 70 to her name; he has five.The final
Hull's own super gran Nancy Birtwhistle said she couldn't remember what happened when her name was called as the winner of the 2014 Great British Bake Off. But viewers could, as they watched fellow finalists Richard Burr and Luis Troyano applaud a very worthy champion.![bofinal]()
It all came right for Nancy, and crumbled for the men vying for the Bake Off crown. Richard's Tarte Au Citron was a lowlight, Mary Berry describing the filling as like scrambled egg and Paul Hollywood reading the builder-baker's piping as "colon", not citron.
Luis's tarte wasn't his finest hour, either, as he tried to shave off burnt edges and watched in dismay as the lemon filling soaked through his pastry cases. But both judges agreed that this year's contest had been exceptional and "a joy to judge".
The final three contestants were pushed to the limit with a series of baking challenges, including signature Viennoiserie, mini Tarte Au Citron, mini Victoria sponges, mini scones, and the piece de resistance showstopper cake.Mary Berry said Nancy had been "consistent throughout" and had shown "quiet determination", while Paul Hollywood said she had been "confident, creative and unafraid as a baker". Nancy later revealed that temerity in BBC Two's The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, when she told host Jo Brand she had saved the day with her showstopper cake – a Moulin Rouge inspired windmill – by sticking a broken sail back by holding it, and her fingers, in burning hot caramel that gave her blisters. She said the show had given her a huge boost and it was one of the best things she had ever done.
Dr Kieran Redman said: "Not only has she been unfairly accused of wrongdoing by the media, but she has lost her senses of taste and smell, due to a freak accident.
"In my view, if ever there were a reason not to take part in a reality TV show, here is a sound one."A fondant farewell
As crimes against humanity go, buying ready-made fondant icing isn't high up on most people's lists.
But when Enwezor revealed he was using the shop-bought variety for his rocket showstopper in Biscuit Week, Mary couldn't hide her disgust (despite the baking queen previously admitting she buys filo and puff pastry from the supermarket).
Sure enough, Enwezor didn't make it through to the next round.Norman's simple pleasures
From his farthing biscuits to his unadorned Zula boats at dawn, retired Merchant Navy radio operator Norman Calder was delightfully no-nonsense.
While other contestants were faffing around with gold leaf and working against the clock to add Heston Blumenthal- esque trimmings to their creations, our Norman stuck to what he did best, plain, honest bakes. 
Until episode five, that is, when he heeded the judges' calls to be more exotic and threw some pesto and lavender into the mix.
It wasn't enough to save him sadly, but amateur potter Norman isn't one to mope. He's joined Twitter and has already notched up more than 12,000 followers.Marvellous Martha
While other teenagers are busy sulking in their bedrooms or taking their 200th selfie of the day, you'll find Martha making chocolate ganache chess pieces and injecting home-made doughnuts with passion fruit curd.
The 18-year-old prodigy started baking aged seven, and managed to juggle competing on Bake Off with studying for her AS Level exams.
She also displayed a healthy disdain for Paul Hollywood's finicky comments, which she channelled into bashing a rolling pin or pounding some bread dough. We predict great things from this rising star.Trailblazer
We only had eyes for one creation during pastry week, and it wasn't the contestants' eclairs or pasties. No, the real star of week seven was Mary Berry's stork print jacket.
This brightly-coloured M&S bomber set the screen alight, and sold out hours after appearing on the show.
Other notable jackets included The Berry's hot pink biker jacket in Pies and Tarts Week, and her snazzy floral blazer in the Desserts episode.Mel and Sue's innuendo
From dough balls to hot baps, no baked good is safe from Mel and Sue's pun-loving clutches. This series, it seems the pair have taken the smut to new levels, telling the wholesome contestants to "pop Mary's cherry ... in the oven", and to "stop nuzzling your princess (cakes)".
Some viewers took exception to the Carry On-style gags, and a handful even wrote to the BBC to complain. But after the 
European episode, Sue insisted the criticism didn't bother her, claiming: "It's the European Parliament's ruling on our 'Dutch' accents I'm dreading."Microwave Nancy
It takes a brave baker to stand up to Paul Hollywood, but Hull- born Nancy isn't afraid to challenge the blue-eyed assassin's criticisms.
Nancy, who left her east Hull and Hessle roots for Barton in 1999, saw judge Paul Hollywood brand her decision to microwave her fruit loaf dough to speed-up the proving process as "dangerous".
And when Paul – brilliantly referred to by Nancy as "the male judge" when his name slipped her memory – questioned her use of the microwave to prove her dough, she replied: "Well, needs must." As for her irregular coloured doughnuts? "They all look all right to me."
Nancy has said she loved every minute of The Great British Bake Off experience and we have loved watching her for moments like this.Cocktail hour
Remember Mary's look of glee when she spied Luis's boozy, cocktail-themed doughnuts? The "everything in moderation" mantra she normally applies to cake-eating went out the tent window when she was presented with a tray-load of the Baileys-laced treats.
And was it just us, or did everyone in the judging tent look a bit glassy-eyed after trying out the potent concoctions? The judges
Paul Hollywood, whose steely gaze can be more cutting than words, was more forbidding as he stalked the Bake Off tent, while Mary Berry, with her gentle manner and colourful array of jackets, was always more forgiving. She was the kind to his sometimes cruel, always finding the good in an anxious contestant's fare, even if the blue-eyed boy of bread has simply branded it a "bad bake".
As the Great British Bake Off reached its culinary climax, Hollywood, 48, told a magazine he would beat Berry hands-down if they went head to head in their own Bake Off challenge, but the slim and trim Berry, 79, retorted that she is better than him at cakes.
Both cooks' fame has been fanned further since the show began four years ago, moving this year to a prime BBC One slot because of its popularity. They are said to have a firm off-screen friendship – Hollywood says he is looked after like one the family if he pops by at the Berry household, whole Berry says she is full of respect for the bad-boy baker.
Where Berry is winning is in book titles – she has more than 70 to her name; he has five.The final
Hull's own super gran Nancy Birtwhistle said she couldn't remember what happened when her name was called as the winner of the 2014 Great British Bake Off. But viewers could, as they watched fellow finalists Richard Burr and Luis Troyano applaud a very worthy champion.
It all came right for Nancy, and crumbled for the men vying for the Bake Off crown. Richard's Tarte Au Citron was a lowlight, Mary Berry describing the filling as like scrambled egg and Paul Hollywood reading the builder-baker's piping as "colon", not citron.
Luis's tarte wasn't his finest hour, either, as he tried to shave off burnt edges and watched in dismay as the lemon filling soaked through his pastry cases. But both judges agreed that this year's contest had been exceptional and "a joy to judge".
The final three contestants were pushed to the limit with a series of baking challenges, including signature Viennoiserie, mini Tarte Au Citron, mini Victoria sponges, mini scones, and the piece de resistance showstopper cake.Mary Berry said Nancy had been "consistent throughout" and had shown "quiet determination", while Paul Hollywood said she had been "confident, creative and unafraid as a baker". Nancy later revealed that temerity in BBC Two's The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, when she told host Jo Brand she had saved the day with her showstopper cake – a Moulin Rouge inspired windmill – by sticking a broken sail back by holding it, and her fingers, in burning hot caramel that gave her blisters. She said the show had given her a huge boost and it was one of the best things she had ever done.