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Matty Edgell was crowned winner of the Great British Bake Off on Tuesday night’s final episode after beating out fellow finalists Dan and Josh for the prize.
The handsome PE teacher, 28, from Cambridgeshire, impressed the judges paul hollywood and Prue Leith to take The crown.
Matty had an incredible rise in the series after calling himself the “official underdog” of the contestants in the tent until making it all the way to the end.
He gained a legion of female fans as the weeks went by and presenter Alison Hammond couldn’t resist shamelessly flirting with him while checking out his cakes.
During his time on the show, he had the support of his fiancée Lara, with whom he confirmed his engagement after the victory.
Matty revealed that he had proposed to her during a trip to Sorrento in Italy and gushed that it was one of the “happiest moments of his life.”
So here MailOnline takes a look at who Matty is and his rise on the show:
Matty Edgell was crowned the winner of the Great British Bake Off on Tuesday night’s final episode after beating fellow finalists Dan and Josh to the prize.
The handsome PE teacher, 28, from Cambridgeshire, impressed judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith to take the crown.
Who is Matty Edgell?
Matty is a 28-year-old science and PE teacher at Hampton College in Cambridgeshire who starred in the 2023 series of Bake Off.
The star began baking as a child after being impressed by a teddy bear cake his grandmother made him for his fourth birthday.
She had previously said that she aspires to be on par with her grandmother’s legendary cakes, including the South Pole-inspired cake she made for her for Christmas.
She has described her baking style as rustic but clean, and her flavor preferences as quite traditional, particularly loving chocolate, citrus, and nuts.
Matty said his students were “blown away” by his baking skills when the competition began airing on Channel 4.
“The school pupils were a bit impressed that I appeared in the series and I got some really nice comments at school,” he told Channel 4.
“I know they’ll think it’s cool that I won, but at the same time they’ll be really surprised.”
“They’ve invested in me throughout the series, so there will be a sense of pride in sharing the win with me.”
The star began baking as a child after being impressed by a teddy bear cake his grandmother made him for his fourth birthday.
He had previously said that he aspires to be on par with his grandmother’s legendary cakes, including the South Pole-inspired cake she made him for Christmas.
Loser at the beginning
While on the series, Matty called himself “the official underdog” as many of his fellow contestants had more baking experience by comparison.
Matty said he thought he “wasn’t good enough” to compete in the series and that’s why he postponed the application.
But eventually, after encouragement from his fiancée, he gained confidence in his own baking talent after first learning from his grandmother while growing up.
He reiterated the “underdog” rhetoric in his exit interview.
He said: ‘Without a doubt, I was the official loser throughout the series.
“So I think everyone was surprised when I made it to the final and then won it, including me!”
He watched the final at home with Lara, his friends and family while eating cake.
Popular with the ladies (including Alison Hammond)
During the series many fans pointed out that Alison Hammond might have been in love with Matty.
The presenter was seen enjoying weeks of flirtation on the Channel 4 cooking show, with some audience members speculating she had a “crush” on the master.
During the series, many fans pointed out that Alison Hammond might have had a crush on Matty.
The presenter was seen enjoying weeks of flirtation on the Channel 4 cooking show, with some audience members speculating she had a “crush” on the master.
Alison, who has been single since splitting from landscape gardener Ben Hawkins earlier this year, was said by those watching at home to be so taken with him they compared Bake Off to a dating show.
“Alison and Matty are in love and I can’t blame them,” said one viewer, while another wrote: “Alison’s introduction to Matty is better than any dating show we’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, a fan joked that the This Morning presenter, 48, and Matty had a future together, saying: “When they do the ‘What the contestants have been up to’ segment, I hope Matty and Alison have run away and have opened a pastry shop in the south of France.’
Alison’s flirtations with Matty had become a topic of conversation not only for viewers but also for those who worked on the show.
A source said: “When it was recorded earlier this year, we all knew the chemistry would become something.”
Alison wasn’t the only one who fell in love with Matty: fans of the show fell in love too.
One wrote: “Sexy Matty has the best sausage rolls… Matty’s sausage wins.”
Committed to blonde beauty
Matty revealed that he is engaged to his girlfriend Lara after being crowned champion in the final
Lara is seen in the white dress standing next to Matty as she poses with her family after winning the show.
Matty revealed in his exit interview that he had proposed to her during a trip to Sorrento in Italy and gushed that it was one of the “happiest moments of his life” (seen together).
Matty revealed that he is engaged to his girlfriend Lara after being crowned champion in the final.
The news was shared just after the teacher beat off competition from Josh and Dan to win the Channel 4 series on Tuesday night’s episode.
Following the announcement that Matty had won, The Great British Bake Off account X (formerly Twitter) shared a post congratulating Matty and Lara on their engagement.
The post read: ‘Huge congratulations from all of us at Bake Off to Matty and Lara on their engagement!’
Matty revealed in his exit interview that he had proposed to her during a trip to Sorrento in Italy and gushed that it was one of the “happiest moments of his life.”
In the photograph, Lara showed off her beautiful and dazzling ring while he hugged her and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek.
The star has yet to share the announcement on her own Instagram.
Matty previously shared that Lara was responsible for entering him into the competition.
After being named winner, Matty said: “I don’t know what to say… everyone said you should go on Bake Off and I thought it was a throwaway comment and I never listened to it.” I never thought he would be on the show let alone win!’
And he added sweetly, mentioning Lara: “I hope GBBO can change my life a little, but being a PE teacher is something I really enjoy right now.”
‘I loved being in the store and another of the happiest moments of my life was when I got engaged in Sorrento to my fiancée Lara.
‘I’m not sure what’s next for me, but my next big baking project is making our wedding cake. “I’m going to continue enjoying it.”
While on the series, Matty called himself “the official underdog” as many of his fellow contestants had more baking experience by comparison.
He told Channel 4 that his next big bake will be the mammoth task of making his own wedding cake for when he marries his fiancée Lara.
In his Instagram post after the final aired, he said of Lara: ‘I can’t imagine how fun it was to live with me sometimes and I’m so grateful for the sacrifices you made for me during all of this!’ I don’t think I’ve made dinner for 10 weeks.
‘You got to live the Bake Off journey with me but you never got to do the fun part. Through the ups and downs of my journey, you helped me countless times, supported me, and gave me the confidence I needed each week.
‘Without you I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this (literally, Lara, now I thank you for applying.’)