Mike Wilkins
Age: 29
Hometown: Wiltshire
Occupation: Farm manager
Baking strengths and weaknesses: "My biggest baking strength is being able to whip up a massive cake for a big celebration, or a huge batch of sweet treats to feed a big gathering, all at the last minute. I am most likely to be baking after midnight - my friends always make fun of my midnight baking sessions, but they enjoy the fruits of my labour nonetheless. We've got a big family and a big friend group and I never like to go anywhere empty handed. My weaknesses are timing and finesse (neither of which are important in the tent, right?). If I start baking at midnight, I usually wouldn't finish until 3am, and by that time my finesse is even more lacking than usual, especially coupled with my poor coordination thanks to my dyspraxia."
What would be your favourite type of Showstopper to bake?: "My wedding cake? That's probably a pretty crazy showstopper to try and make at home however much time there was available, but I am planning to do just that next May - I only wish I had endless amounts of time to get it perfect!"
How did it feel entering the famous tent for the first time?: "I was incredibly lucky that Gill and I got to walk into the tent together for the first time and we were both squealing and hopping up and down like little children. It felt like walking into technicolour Oz, or falling down Alice's rabbit hole - like stepping into wonderland. The tent is just magical, pure magic! Standing in front of my workbench for the first time was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, it felt like I'd won a 'visit the Bake Off tent' experience day and at any moment I was going to be whisked away to allow the real bakers to get in there! My other overarching memory from that first time in the tent was Gill and I trying our absolute hardest (and failing) not to fall down the steps on the way in!"
The Great British Bake Off airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.
Neil Wilkes
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