‘Boring is too strong a word,” said Paul Hollywood, “but it’s on its way.” He was talking about a showstopper cake presented to him by Josh, a Leicestershire 27-year-old who hoped his three-tiered celebration of the English seasons, complete with a biscuit greenhouse, would win him series 14 of The Great British Bake Off. But the veteran judge could have been referring to this year’s final.
Josh seemed the obvious winner from the start of the last episode, despite presenters and judges trying to impress us with his rivals’ achievements in earlier rounds. “They’ve all had a handshake!” protested Prue Leith, referring to the gesture of approval that used to be sporadic and understated, but which has now become awkward and somehow slightly icky. Perhaps we have just seen everything in this show one too many times.
