Jamie’s positive mental attitude shines through everything he does, but in Biscuit Week his cookie sadly crumbled. The 20 year old shared his thoughts from his time in the tent:
‘I kind of knew I was going, and I had almost prepared for it before it was announced, but there were still so many emotions. I was so proud of what I had achieved but also gutted that I had to go. I got a feeling of FOMO because I knew I wouldn’t be there in the coming weeks. Overall, it was a great experience and I didn’t regret a single moment. I really felt that everyone was so nice: the bakers, the crew, the judges and the presenters, I really liked all of them. There was a lot of love in the tent, and even though I was only there two weeks I loved every minute of it.
‘I am only 20 so it was a very surreal experience, but I felt that I coped quite well. I think you need a certain level of maturity just to get past the auditions and recipe development stage. You can’t just wing it, so I gave it all my best and had fun at the same time. I still live at home so my mum helped me with the washing up on the practices, my twin brother Alex didn’t help that much but he was useful in the tasting process. He gave pretty good feedback and seemed to like most things. My dad used to bake bread so he was also good at giving advice.
‘My family are so proud of what I have achieved and have enjoyed watching it. I think they are a bit surprised that I even applied, let alone got on it. When I went back to film The Final my mum wanted me to bake [what would have been my] signature for Bread Week which was a blueberry cinnamon tear and share bread. It’s her favourite and it turned out alright. So even though the bread didn’t make it into the tent – it made it to just outside the tent – and to my mum!
‘I will be watching [Bake Off] with the family every week from now until I go to Uni, and when I get there I will have to find some mates that want to watch it with me. I will be supporting the bakers every week!’
Jamie will be on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice with Jo Brand and Tom Allen on Friday 6th September at 8pm on Channel 4.