Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle says hairdresser was inspiration (2024)

She was branded the 'queen of consistency' by judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in The Great British Bake Off final last week.

But champion baker Nancy Birtwhistle has revealed her show-stopping Moulin Rouge-inspired confection would never have been made if she hadn't paid a visit to her hairdresser in the run-up to the event.

The 60-year-old grandmother from Lincolnshire admits she 'broke down' when her original garden-themed idea was rejected by the show's food technicians.

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Panicking about the challenge of constructing a choux pastry pièce montée with a celebration theme, Nancy started brainstorming new ideas with her 27-year-old hairdresser, Charlie Taylor.

She told The Sunday Times: 'I was close to tears and told her my head was in a mess, but then we started bouncing ideas around.

'I thought of doing a helter-skelter first and then came up with the idea of a windmill.

'She was the facilitator, she helped get my head moving as it was in a very sticky place at that point.'

Nancy used to be the practice manager at a doctor's surgery in Barton-Upon-Humber and the town is still home today, where she lives with her husband, Dr Tim Birtwhistle.

The retired star is a busy grandmother of eight who describes herself on her Twitter page as 'Home baker, home veg grower, turkey grower and chicken rescuer.'

The keen cyclist even grows her own turkeys for Christmas in her back garden.

She began baking to feed her family and save money and believes in passing on her culinary knowledge - she even teaches her hairdresser how to bake.

During biscuit week she mesmerised judges and viewers with her incredible Hansel and Gretel magic forest.

Nancy's French influence on her baking came after she renovated a house in the south of the country and made friends with a chef whom she woulddiscuss different ideas and techniques.

She started off the show on a high when she won the 'Star baker' award in her first week for her cherry cake, which she made as part of the programme's first technical challenge

There was a low point when Paul Hollywood branded her decision to microwave her fruit loaf 'dangerous' but such criticism bounced off her.

Nancy previously revealed the contestants all had to be carefully vetted by a psychotherapist before going on the show.

'They wanted to know if we could handle the pressure that's involved. You were not allowed any cooking qualifications. You had to be an absolute amateur.

'There were long chats. References were checked and we all had to be CRB checked to ensure we were who we said we were.

'We were asked, 'Is there anything about you that someone watching the show could take to the newspapers?''

Her strong Hull accent saw some of the other contestants poke fun at her but Nancy has taken it all in her stride.

She said of entering the show: 'It was the best thing I have ever done.'