To be in tears at the end of Bake Off final?

[CockyPants]

It's all just so lovely. Really please John won.

I hope John's mum is proud of him now! First Class Law degree too.

Brendan was robbed for sure! John did some amazing things but also loads of crap things. I reckon he would have been out the week he cut his hand, if it hadn't been too mean to chuck him out when he was in hospital. Brendan was so consistent - I think they really should take it into account in the final judging, and not get it to all go in one cake. John won because his cake was shiny (did not like those weird headless owls on the top, or the melodrama of ''heaven and hell' just because he'd had to do some studying!)

His family was horrible! I doubt his mother will be proud of him now - if he's got to 22 without making her proud (and having got a first in a law degree, he must have done pretty well at school, etc) then I doubt she'll be won over by some small things like winning GBBO and getting a first ... And where was his partner? Did they shove him in a cupboard when doing the 'friends and family' bit?

But ... fab show, gutted it's over. I want it to be on forever!

I thought it probably should have been Brendan too, based on the series as a whole, but John's 'chiffon' cake looked gorgeous, that might have been what won it for him in the end. And the thing about the 'modern twist' was clearly a reference to Brendan and his more old-fashioned influences.

Definitely something 'off' about John's family, I was cringing at his mum/sister's sneery attitudes, and how desperate he seemed for his mum's approval.

Poor James, but wtf was he thinking making 5 cakes, no wonder none of them turned out too well! If he'd spent that time and effort on one really good cake things might have gone differently.

goldengreen they are just kiddies aren't they :)

i thought Brendan should have won in the end - whether you like him or not isn't the question - his baking was consistently great.

being a gay chap from Ireland and of his time = probably not v. easy !

I was in floods (36 weeks pg here, so some excuse). Particularly when John spoke about finally making his mother proud. How awful to get to his age (and obviously academically successful before getting the law first) without feeling that she is proud of him.

I told my DD 2.5 that I was very, very proud of her for putting her shoes on by herself this morning which got me a very weird look from DH.

Who knows, maybe he was a wild child and caused his mother a lot of heart break as a teen.

Lovely programme but didn't really like all the Xfactor type sobby bits last night.
Bring back chirpy Cathryn and Sarah Jane.

ps I know Sarah Jane welled up a couple of times. But it was annoyance over not getting her bakes right and maybe getting kicked out; not drama stuff.

I love Sarah Jane!

And I loved seeing Ryan who felt it might be too emotional to return. Bless!

It was great to get a catch up on how they're all doing. I'd love to visit Cathryn and Sarah Jane's stall.

After seeing thsi thread title I have to ask how many of you stayed tuned in for the programme which followed this - the concluding part of Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip

'And none of them were better than Ryan, who we thought was bloody fantastic and should have won'

Ryan's key lime pie was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen (including Paul Hollywood )

Agree that Brendan was robbed. I had a real soft spot for him and relate to some of his story, having grown up in Ireland never 'fitting in' and having to work hard to live my own life, and having humungous family issues. I am the world's worst baker though so no comparisons there! His partner seemed really lovely. I almost went blubby when he became emotional near the end - DP was sat beside me doing massive and faces all the way through though so it wasn't really conducive to getting teary!

Also very sad for John whose family seemed like tossers - he did seem totally desperate for his mum's approval Such a lovely sweet bloke. Was hoping to have a look at his partner but didn't see him at all!

YANBU by the way OP. I've been in tears all day that's a lie at the thought of not seeing Paul Hollywood on Tuesday nights any more! Who can I drool over now???

The BEST thing about last night was seeing the other bakers come back, and seeing that they'd all clearly lost a stone each

I heart GBBO. I hearted Brendan a lot even if I also found him a bit creepo.

He was totally robbed.

YY to John's Mum being a bit of a cah.

I loved how Ryan is 'wandering around Europe looking at artisan breads'. Sounds like a fun way to spend your time!

I love GBBO.

Did feel for Brendan, he was clearly the best one but not modern enough for the judges and maybe not personable enough for some of the audience.

I really liked John as a person but did feel that James edged him out most weeks. James just fell apart and didn't think enough during the final.

I read that John was actually doing his exams during filming (possibly James too I suppose) so it's impressive they did so well academically as well. What lovely lovely young men (feel a bit silly saying that as am only 30-something but still). In fact all the contestants were so lovely which is what really makes GBBO.

I did think it was rather odd during John's family video when they all appeared to be taking the pee out of him :-/

I am reeling that people actually like Brendan.

John is lovely and his showstopper cake last night pissed all over the othr two. His mum was a trout and so was his sister. :(

I hadn't given two hoot about Brendan until last night then him being revealed as all emotional and also a Buddhist tipped me over the edge and I was suddenly all fond of him. I thought we were going to cut back to him at the end of the show still unable to finish that sentence.

John was fab on Breakfast this morning, my money's on a career in bun broadcasting for him.

Meh, none of the alleged 'showstoppers' thrilled me.

I LOVE Brendan.

Just because Brendan doen't emote all over the place people think he's some kind of malevolent creature.

What is there to love about Brendan? I'm not being a cunt, I'm genuinely interested in what his fans like about him.

I was desperately hoping John's family just had a weird sense of humour rather than thinking he was crap. First in his law degree and winning but still a joke to them

That said, he didn't deserve to win

Brendan was the best baker, even if he was hard to like - if it was on results alone, he should have won. James had the flair and ping to win - he was the heart choice, Brendan was the head choice. Which is why I don't understand why they gave it to John except to stick two fingers up at his family

He's dry and witty and doesn't feel the need to faff around with false modesty.

Brendan was a bit odd, but I quite liked him, and he did bake very well. I loved some of the comments he came out with too.

John's mum/sister reminded me of my family, and not in a good way. That bit left me feeling pretty uncomfortable tbh.

I wondered where John's partner was too - I wonder if there's some family tension there as well? Or maybe there's some perfectly reasonable explanation, just speculating really :)

Yeah, I wasn't a massive Brendan fan at first because we EXPECT people to be all emosh and self-deprecating, but dude has been through A LOT in life and doesn't need all that X Factor wankery.

Can you imagine being a gay lad in rural Ireland back in the day? In a large family that lost its mother early?

No wonder he was choking up at family reunion stuff

I am OUTRAGED that he didn't win. OUTRAGED I tells ye!