The Great British Bake Off (series 6)

The Great British Bake Off Series 6
Presented by	Mel Giedroyc Sue Perkins
Judges	Mary Berry Paul Hollywood
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Executive producer(s)	Anna Beattie
Producer(s)	Paolo Proto
Production location(s)	Welford Park
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Love Productions
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	5 August (2015-08-05) – 7 October 2015 (2015-10-07)
Chronology
Preceded by	Series 5
Followed by	Series 7
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The sixth series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on 5 August 2015, with twelve contestants competing to be crowned the series 6 winner. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins present the show, and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood return as judges. The competition was held in the ground of Welford Park, Berkshire for a second year. The series was won by Nadiya Hussain, with Tamal Ray and Ian Cumming finishing as runners-up.

Bakers

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown	Links
Alvin Magallanes	37	Nurse	Bracknell, Berkshire
Dorret Conway	53	Accountant	Penwortham, Lancashire
Flora Shedden	19	Art gallery assistant	Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross
Ian Cumming	41	Travel photographer	Great Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire
Marie Campbell	66	Retired	Auchterarder, Perthshire
Mat Riley	37	Fire fighter	London
Nadiya Hussain	30	Full-time mum	Leeds / Luton
Paul Jagger	49	Prison governor	Swansea, Wales
Sandy Docherty	49	Child welfare officer	Yeadon, West Yorkshire
Stu Henshall	35	Professional musician	Guildford, Surrey
Tamal Ray	29	Trainee anaesthetist	Manchester
Ugnė Bubnaityte	32	PA and administrator	Woodford, London

Results summary

Elimination chart
Baker	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Nadiya					SB			SB		WINNER
Ian		SB								Runner Up
Tamal							SB			Runner Up
Flora									OUT
Paul								OUT
Mat						SB	OUT
Alvin						OUT
Ugnė					OUT
Sandy				OUT
Dorret			OUT
Marie	SB	OUT
Stu	OUT

Colour key:

     Baker was one of the judges' least favourite bakers that week, but was not eliminated.

     Baker was one of the judges' favourite bakers that week, but was not the Star Baker.

     Baker got through to the next round.

     Baker was eliminated.

     Baker was the Star Baker.

     Baker was a series runner-up.

     Baker was the series winner.

Episodes

     Baker eliminated

     Star Baker

     Winner

Episode 1: Cakes

For the first challenge, the bakers were given two hours to make a Madeira Cake, which was chosen as an "easy" challenge for the bakers. The cake should have a dome and a crack on top, though Mary stated the cake should not differ too far from the original. For the technical challenge, the bakers had one and three quarter hours to make Mary's recipe for a Frosted Walnut Cake, which should have three layers and a meringue coating, along with caramelised walnuts. A Black Forest gâteau was set as the final challenge. In three and a half hours, the bakers were tasked with making a cake that should be extravagant, and should "impress" Mary and Paul.

Baker	Signature (Madeira Cake)	Technical (Frosted walnut layer cake)	Showstopper (Black Forest gâteau)
Alvin	Orange, vanilla and fig Madeira cake	2nd	Black Forest gâteau
Dorret	Madeira cake with candied lemon	5th	Enchanted forest gâteau
Flora	Blood orange Madeira cake	6th	Black Forest gâteau
Ian	Somewhere west of Madeira cake	8th	Black Forest cherry tree
Marie	Zingy citrus Madeira cake	3rd	A walk in the Black Forest
Mat	Gin and tonic Madeira cake	7th	Black Forest Gateau
Nadiya	Orange and green cardamom Madeira cake	12th	Quadruple chocolate Black Forest gâteau
Paul	Lemon, ginger and caraway seed Madeira cake	10th	Black Forest chocolate creation
Sandy	Madeira cake with almond liqueur and chopped apricots	9th	Black Forest gâteau
Stu	Marley Madeira cake	11th	Purple Forest gâteau
Tamal	Pistachio and rose Madeira cake	4th	Black Forest gâteau in a chocolate shell
Ugnė	Lemon and thyme Madeira cake	1st	Falling cup gâteau

Episode 2: Biscuits

for the signature challenge, the bakers were given two hours to bake 24 identical biscotti of any shape, flavour or size. In the technical challenge, they were required to make eight arlettes, which are high-end light delicate cinnamon-flavoured biscuits, in two and a half hours. For the show stopper, they were set the challenge of making 36 biscuits, to be presented in a biscuit box made of a different kind of biscuit mix. They were given four hours in this challenge.

Baker	Signature (24 Biscotti)	Technical (Arlettes)	Showstopper (Edible biscuit box)
Alvin	Jackfruit, pistachio and macadamia biscotti	6th	Gingerbread box and brandy snaps
Dorret	Almond and apricot biscotti with amber sugar crystals	1st	Green Tea gingerbread box and cocoa bean shortbread frogs
Flora	Wedding biscotti	2nd	Honey and lemon box and Earl Grey tea biscuits
Ian	Orange, rosemary and almond biscotti with a zabaglione dip	3rd	Cylindrical shortbread box and macaroons
Marie	Biscotti italiano	11th	Orange Russian box and cinnamon shortbread
Mat	Pistachio, cranberry and white chocolate biscotti	5th	Gingerbread fire engine and Earl Grey tea biscuits
Nadiya	Coconut, fennel and pistachio biscotti	9th	Cayenne gingerbread vessel and fortune cookies
Paul	Chocolate, hazelnut and fig biscotti	10th	Gingerbread box and pink macaroons
Sandy	Chocolate chunk and hazelnut biscotti	4th	Sun-dried tomato & cheese biscuit box and parmesan 'sandwich' Biscuits
Tamal	Cinnamon, maple and cranberry biscotti	8th	Star anise flavoured box and chequered shortbread biscuits
Ugnė	White wine biscotti	7th	Lithuanian honeycake jar and cinnamon cookies with fondant baby

Episode 3: Bread

In the first task, the bakers were given one and a half hour to make two quick bread to be made free-form (i.e. not in a tin). For the second task, Paul set the bakers the challenge of baking 4 identical crusty baguettes in two and a half hours. For the final showstopper, the bakers needed to make a 3-D bread sculpture in five hours. The bread sculpture should be made of three types of dough, and one of them should be filled.

Baker	Signature (2 quick breads)	Technical (Baguettes)	Showstopper (3D bread sculpture)
Alvin	Prosciutto, manchego and balsamic onion soda breads	4th	Cornucopia
Dorret	Walnut and Stilton soda breads	6th	Unmade bread
Flora	Fig and hazelnut rye breads	2nd	Herb couture
Ian	Wild garlic pesto soda breads	1st	Flour power
Mat	Jalapeño, Mexican cheddar and smoked salt soda breads	8th	Curry inspired Brighton Pavilion
Nadiya	Mexican bread with warm tomato salsa	9th	Snake charmer's basket
Paul	Cranberry and orange sweet soda breads	10th	King of the jungle
Sandy	Soda breads with smoked bacon and onion	7th	Basket of bread flowers with a walnut and blue cheese centre
Tamal	Fig, cheese and walnut breads	3rd	Breadcycle
Ugnė	Chocolate quick breads with salted caramel sauce	5th	Easter basket

• Paul received the first ever special commendation for his showstopper King of the Jungle.

Episode 4: Desserts

For the signature challenge, the bakers had to make twelve crème brûlées. They had two and a half hours, with the brief being given that they custard must be set, and that the bakers weren't allowed to use a blowtorch to caramelise the top. For the technical challenge, the bakers had four hours to make a Spanische Windtorte. This dessert had two types of meringue, Swiss and French, designed into a circular box and filled with cream and fruit. Three tiers of cheesecakes was set as the showstopper. The structure must be self-standing, and must have unique flavours.

Baker	Signature (12 crème brûlées)	Technical (Spanische Windtorte)	Showstopper (Three-tiered cheesecake)
Alvin	Blackberry crème brûlées	9th	Tower of fruits cheesecakes
Flora	Rhubarb and ginger crème brûlées	3rd	Elderflower and granola cheesecakes
Ian	Pomegranate two ways crème brûlées	4th	Trio of spicy and herby baked cheesecakes
Mat	Coconut crème brûlées	7th	Chocolate bar cheesecakes
Nadiya	Cinnamon tea crème brûlées	8th	Fizzy pop cheesecakes
Paul	Almond crème brûlées	1st	Berry cheesecake tower
Sandy	Pontefract crème brûlée	6th	Cassata, whisky and orange & apple pie cheesecakes
Tamal	Rhubarb and stem ginger crème brûlées	5th	Mango, hazelnut and rosemary cheesecake trio
Ugnė	Marula fruit and coffee liqueur crème brûlées	2nd	Lime, coconut and hazelnut cheesecakes

Episode 5: Alternative Ingredients

This episode has a theme of using alternatives for ingredients usually used in baking. For the signature bake, the bakers were given the challenge of baking a cake, but without using sugar. They were given two and a half hour for the bake. For the technical bake, the challenge was to make twelve identical gluten-free pitta breads in two hours. In the showstopper, the bakers needed to make an ice-cream roll using dairy-free ice-cream. They were given four and a half hours for the bake.

Baker	Signature (Sugar-free cake)	Technical (Gluten-free pitta breads)	Showstopper (Dairy-free ice-cream roll)
Alvin	Pineapple upside-down cake	8th	Buko pandan, mango and passion fruit ice cream roll
Flora	Pistachio, apple and cardamom madeleine cake	3rd	Chocolate and pear bûche
Ian	Honey and flowers cake	5th	Dessert island
Mat	Sugar-free carrot cake	4th	Raspberry and coconut ice cream roll
Nadiya	Naked blueberry and caraway crunch cake	1st	Chocolate and strawberry lime ice cream roll
Paul	Carrot and pecan cake	2nd	Dessert island getaway
Tamal	Honey and grapefruit polenta cake	7th	Passion fruit and pineapple ice cream roll
Ugnė	Chocolate and hazelnut sugar-free cake	6th	Chocolate peanut butter and grape jam roll

Episode 6: Pastry

For this week's signature challenge, the bakers had to make a Frangipane tart in two hours, the brief being that it must be open-topped and use shortcrust pastry. In the technical, the bakers had to make Flauones - a cheese filled pastry made in Cyprus. They had two hours. Vol-au-vents were set as the Showstopper - the bakers had to make two types, all using their own puff pastry - in three hours and forty five minutes.

Baker	Signature (Frangipane tart)	Technical (Flaounes)	Showstopper (48 Vol-au-vents (two types))
Alvin	Plum Frangipane Tart	6th	Salmon en Croûte Vol-au-vents Chicken à la King Vol-au-Vents
Flora	Apricot and Rosemary Frangipane Tart	2nd	Asparagus and Parma Ham Vol-au-vents Praline and Chocolate Vol-au-vents
Ian	Pear and Raspberry Frangipane Tart	3rd	Vol-au-vents "Terre et Mer"
Mat	Piña Colada Frangipane Tart	1st	His 'n' Hers Vol-au-vents
Nadiya	Bay Leaf, Rong Tea and Pear Tart	4th	Bengali Korma Vol-au-vents Clementine with Cod Vol-au-vents
Paul	Christmas Frangipane Tart	5th	Savoury and Sweet Bouchées
Tamal	Spiced Pear Frangipane Tart	7th	Chicken and Coriander Vol-au-vents Fennel and Rosemary Pulled Pork Vol-au-vents

Episode 7: Victorian

For the first challenge, the bakers had three hours to make a Raised Game Pie. The pie must have thin pastry, and must be very ornate, as most Game Pies from the era were. For the technical challenge, a Tennis fruit Cake was set for the bakers. The bakers were given three hours to make a fruit cake, along with royal icing and sugar paste, with much gelatine being used. A Charlotte Russe was set as the Showstopper. To be done in five and a half hours, the bake usually has ladyfingers around jelly and a sponge - with flavour and decoration being key.

Baker	Signature (Raised Game Pie)	Technical (Tennis Cake)	Showstopper (Charlotte Russe)
Flora	Game Pie with Shallot and Apple Chutney	4th	Raspberry, Pomegranate and Champagne Charlotte Russe
Ian	Roadkill Pie	5th	Victoria's Crown Charlotte Russe
Mat	Raised Venison and Pigeon Pie	6th	Strawberry Charlotte Russe
Nadiya	Aromatic Game Pie	1st	Mango and Raspberry Charlotte Russe
Paul	Not a Boaring Pie	2nd	Charlotte Rose
Tamal	Middle Eastern Game Pie	3rd	Spiced Blackberry, Raspberry and Cardamom Charlotte Russe

Episode 8: Pâtisserie

In the first quarter-final challenge, the bakers had to make twenty-four cream horns in three and a half hours. They were asked to make twenty four cream horns - twelve of each flavour, using either puff, ruff puff or flaky pastry. Mary's recipe for nine Mokatines was set as the technical challenge. These were small, delicate genoise sponges, filled with a coffee buttercream meant to be attractive, as if "in a patisserie window". They would only have two hours. Religieuse à l'ancienne were set as the Showstopper challenge. These would be large éclairs, stood upright with no doweling, and decorated with buttercream. They were given four hours, though the towers were left to stand for two hours afterwards, as traditional religieuse would have been left for such time. As a result, some of the towers began to collapse or lean upon being presented to Mary and Paul.

Baker	Signature (24 Cream horns)	Technical (Mokatines)	Showstopper (Religieuse à l'ancienne)
Flora	Peach & Lemon Thyme and Smoked Almond & Butterscotch Cream Horns	3rd	Lime & Basil and Coconut & White Chocolate Religieuse à l'ancienne
Ian	Mont Blanc & Black Forest Gâteau Horns	2nd	Nun with Hidden Passions
Nadiya	Rose Pistachio and Mocha Hazelnut Horns	1st	Bubble Gum and Peppermint Cream Religieuse à l'ancienne
Paul	Café Tipple & Banana Crunch-away Horns	5th	Paul's Religieuse à l'ancienne
Tamal	Lime & Mascarpone and Malt Cream Horns	4th	Passionfruit & Mango and Pistachio & Raspberry Religieuse à l'ancienne

Episode 9: Chocolate (semi-final)

For the first challenge, the bakers had three hours to make a chocolate tart. The tart had to be ornate, intricate, and full on flavour. For the technical, the bakers faced a staggered start, and were each given one hour and fifteen minutes to make a chocolate soufflé - with Flora starting first, followed by Ian, Nadiya, then Tamal. A chocolate centrepiece was set as the showstopper. In four hours, the bakers had to create an ornate centrepiece using white chocolate in some form - the centrepiece having to be free-standing and attractive. Flora's elimination meant that she was the first baker to have finished first in the technical challenge and be eliminated the same week.

Baker	Signature (Chocolate Tart)	Technical (Chocolate Soufflé)	Showstopper (Chocolate Centrepieces)
Flora	Passion Fruit and Chocolate Tart	1st	Cocoa Carousel
Ian	Chocolate and Bay Tart	3rd	Chocolate Well
Nadiya	Peanut Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart	4th	Peacock in Nan's Door
Tamal	Chocolate New York Pie	2nd	Chocolate Bell Tower

Episode 10: Final

In the final signature challenge, the bakers had to make 16 iced buns, of which there must be two kinds, in three hours. In the technical, the judges decided to use one of Paul's recipes; the bakers had to bake raspberry-flavoured mille-feuille in two hours. The recipe involved pastry - something all of the bakers had struggled with. In the final Showstopper, the bakers were given four hours to make classic British cakes in a multi-layered presentation.

Baker	Signature (16 iced buns)	Technical (Mille-feuille)	Showstopper (Classic British Cakes)
Ian	Elderflower and Lemon Buns Spiced Buns	2nd	Colossal Carrot Cake
Nadiya	Nadiya's Iced Buns	1st	My Big Fat British Wedding Cake
Tamal	Cinnamon and Apple Iced Buns Toffee and Marmalade Iced Buns	3rd	Caramel Sticky Toffee Cake

Masterclasses

Mary and Paul show how to bake some of their favorite recipes and technical challenges.

Episode 1

	Bake 1	Bake 2	Bake 3
Mary	Madeira Cake	Walnut Cake	Black Forest Gâteau
Paul	Hazelnut & Orange Biscotti	Arlettes	N/A

Episode 2

	Bake 1	Bake 2	Bake 3
Mary	Cappuccino Crème Brûlée	Spanish Windtorte	White Chocolate & Rasberry Cheesecake
Paul	Soda Bread	Baguettes	N/A

Episode 3

	Bake 1	Bake 2	Bake 3
Mary	Sugarfee Carrot Cake	Apricot Frangipane Tart	N/A
Paul	Flaounes	Raised Game Pie	Lime & Passionfruit Charlotte Russe

Episode 4

	Bake 1	Bake 2
Mary	Tennis Cake	Mokatines
Paul	Cream Horns	Religious a l'Ancienne

Christmas Special

	Bake 1	Bake 2	Bake 3
Mary	Christmas Pavlova	Christmas Trifle	Rosace à l’Orange
Paul	Christmas Chelsea Buns	Turkey and Ham Pie	Pandoro

Controversy

Betting

As the show was pre-recorded, the winner of the show would have been known by those involved in the show. It was reported that there was heavy betting on Ian, resulting in the odds being slashed and betting suspended due to fear of a leak of the name of the winner. Bookmaker Ladbrokes halted betting on the show after "a run of bets" was placed for one contestant, many at shops in the Ipswich area.

It was also claimed that dozens of employees of BBC as well as the production company, Love Productions, had opened gambling accounts to place bets on the eventual winner.

Spoilers

In a BBC Radio 2 broadcast, judge Mary Berry accidentally revealed the eliminated contestant prior to the airing of episode three.

Contestants

Contestant Marie Campbell, who was the first Star Baker of the series, was criticised for being "semi-professional", after it emerged that she had been trained in Ecole Escoffier at the Ritz in Paris where she specialised in patisserie. It was also alleged that she had gone on to run a school for chefs as well as a cupcake baking business. A statement from the BBC said: "There are strict criteria to take part in the show and Marie met those criteria. She gained a certificate for one week’s training in Paris in 1984, more than 10 years ago. She has not worked professionally as a baker or chef."

Post-show career

Nadiya Hussain regularly appears on The One Show on BBC1.

Tamal Ray writes a monthly column for The Guardian.

Ratings

According to the overnight ratings, the opening episode of the series 6 of Bake Off was watched by 9.3 million viewers, a rise of over 2 million from the previous year. The final was watched by an overnight audience of 13.4 million viewers peaking at 14.5, the highest overnight total of 2015 so far.

Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	BBC One weekly ranking	Weekly ranking all channels
1	5 August 2015 (2015-08-05)	11.62	1	1
2	12 August 2015 (2015-08-12)	11.59	1	1
3	19 August 2015 (2015-08-19)	12.01	1	1
4	26 August 2015 (2015-08-26)	12.36	1	1
5	2 September 2015 (2015-09-02)	12.39	1	1
6	9 September 2015 (2015-09-09)	12.00	1	1
7	16 September 2015 (2015-09-16)	12.35	1	1
8	23 September 2015 (2015-09-23)	11.09	1	1
9	30 September 2015 (2015-09-30)	12.65	1	1
10	7 October 2015 (2015-10-07)	15.06	1	1

Specials

Episode no.	Airdate	Viewers (millions)	BBC Two weekly ranking
The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
1	12 October 2015 (2015-10-12)	2.53	2
2	16 October 2015 (2015-10-16)	1.70	18
3	19 October 2015 (2015-10-19)	1.81	12
4	23 October 2015 (2015-10-23)	1.39	29
The Great British Bake Off, Class of 2014
	4 October 2015 (2015-10-04)	N/A	N/A