Cheeky Janusz is already being tipped to be this year's Great British Bake Off winner - as research has revealed he fits the 'recipe for success' to take the crown. A study of the previous winners from the amateur baking competition by Jackpotjoy claims to calculate who is statistically the most likely to win.
According to the research, you've got a better chance of coming up trumps if you're aged around 30-35, live in the south of England, work in finance or technology and have a name starting with a letter in the first half of the alphabet. But the 'winning' formula doesn't stop there, as scooping Star Baker, being a memorable or 'cheeky' contestant as well as ironically having a baking disaster, also boosts your chances.
Janusz best fits the bill to be made the 13th Bake Off champion given the 34-year-old from East Sussex ticks five of the boxes for the 'winning formula'. This year's predicted winner Janusz is 34 is from East Sussex and has also won over fans with his colourful sense of humour as he talked Brighton gay clubs with presenter Matt Lucas.
The Personal Assistant to Head Teacher's culinary skills bowled over judges Prue and Paul in last week's episode with his 'Fruity Horchata' cake and he's also won Star Baker twice so far. Hitting four of the spots for the 'winning formula', 29-year-old Electronics Engineer Abdul from London is second likely to win.
Twenty-nine-year-old Architectural Assistant Maxy from London whose won Star Baker twice is ranked third likely to win. IT Manager Dawn, 60, from Bedfordshire ranks fourth, meeting three of the criteria, while 32-year-old Cardiovascular Research Associate Syabira from London is fifth.
Supermarket Cashier Carole from Dorset who had a baking disaster in week two when her biscuit showstopper cracked down the middle, ranks in sixth. Lanarkshire Music Teacher Kevin, 33, is seventh and 30-year-old London-based nanny Sandro comes in at eighth, both ticking two boxes for the 'winning formula'.
As well as the contestants demographic, Jackpotjoy also looked into how many times each the 12 winners won Star Baker, as well as any stand out moments they had. On average, a Bake Off winner will win Star Baker once or twice – just two winners have earned the title three times - Nadiya Hussain from series six and Candice Brown from series seven.
And four historic winners all faced baking disasters at some point during the competition, while two winners, Candice and Nancy Birtwhistle, were known for their sassy demeanor. Candice was infamous for her innuendos like 'hold my jugs' and 'it's good to get your hands in and give your sausages a good squeeze' - she even appeared to call former judge Mary Berry a 'tart' in one episode.
Candice had judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in stitches in the very first episode, as she complained her sponge cakes were 'like rubber' before throwing one out the Bake Off tent's window like a frisbee. While Nancy, who won Star Baker just once, threw shade at Paul Hollywood and referred to him as 'the male judge'.
She lost her cool during the technical challenge and asked co-presenter Sue Perkins: "What did the male judge say again?" Despite the sass, she went on to take the top spot that week. Alex Fagelson, Head of Brand at Jackpotjoy, said that with the exciting new series in full swing, 'only time wil tell' if their predictions are right.
Alex said: "With the exciting new series of GBBO underway, if our predictions are correct, we expect the winner could be a contestant who is aged around 30-35, lives in the south of England, works in finance or technology and has a first name that starts with a letter in the first half of the alphabet.
"Only time will tell if we're right!"
While it may be possible to work out who is statistically the most likely to nab the crown, the 'recipe' for popularity after the show appears less straightforward. Household name Nadiya Hussain is widely seen as the nation's favourite GBBO winner to date - 41% named her their top GBBO winner from the 12 complete UK series to date.
Yet she only fulfills one of the 'winning' criteria, which was that she was 31 years old when she won the show.
More information on the research can be found here: https://www.jackpotjoy.com/uk/uks-favourite-cakes
