The Great British Bake Off finalists are confirmed after fan-favourite is sent home
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Author: Emma DoddsPublished 24th Oct 2018 Last updated 24th Oct 2018
The semi-finals of The Great British Bake Off are always hard to watch. The pressure is mounting, Paul Hollywood's blue eyes seem to send off laser beams into the contestants' brains - and everyone is pretty good by this point, so there's not normally an obvious choice to leave.
Of course, someone has to go home to leave three contestants in the final of the show, and this week's INCREDIBLY tense semi-final left the audience in absolute floods of tears as a particular fan-favourite was sent home. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
There were plenty of emotional moments in last night's episode (23rd Oct), as poor Kim-Joy faltered over how to make chocolate mousse in the Technical Challenge, which saw the bakers create a Torta Setteveli, and had a moment of giving up. Thankfully, Noel Fielding stepped in to give her a pep talk, and after a few moments, she picked herself up and came second in the challenge.
But without a doubt, the saddest moment was when Briony Williams from Bristol was sent home after an admittedly difficult week. The full-time mum won viewers over through the weeks with her creativity and humour - but after all three of her challenges didn't turn out as she'd hoped, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith chose to send her home.
Swipe through to see all the 2018 contestants for The Great British Bake Off... Can you remember them all?
Meet this year's GBBO contestants...
The Great British Bake Off finalists are confirmed after fan-favourite is sent home
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Terry, 56
Terry used to work as a prosthetic technician, and owns a microbrewery and allotment. These all have a bearing on his baking, and his craftmanship is a testament to his background. His family taught him everything he knows about baking, with his dad teaching him to make bread and pastry from the age of just 10.
Meet this year's GBBO contestants...
Antony, 30
Antony describes himself as a 'Bollywood baker', and grew up in India which is where he learned to bake with his father - his baking inspiration. He's unafraid to try out new things and bakes 'unconventionally'. Antony once tasted 50 choux buns on a trip to Paris!
Briony, 33
Briony is a self-taught baker from Bristol who has been inspired by her Nan. She has used YouTube tutorials to learn specific techniques and has been seriously baking on 2013 - and describes herself as a 'whizz' with puff pastry.
Dan, 36
Dan describes himself as a perfectionist, and considers the way a bake looks to be one of the most important elements of baking. He is a full-time father-of-two, which makes home-baking an intrinsic part of his life.
Imelda, 33
Imelda is one of four from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, learning to cook and bake from her mum. She spends a lot of her time baking soda breads and and biscuits for her father and son as well as cakes that she shares with her office.
Jon, 47
Jon, from Wales, loves spending time with his wife and their four children, and bakes to relax after a day at work. He loves 'showy' bakes and researching for new ideas to achieve something unique.
Karen, 60
Having lived in France for 15 years, Karen is a lover of baking and was inspired by the local patisserie - and is now a prolific maker of profiteroles, Religieuse buns, tartes au citron and even foot long eclairs.
Kim-Joy, 27
As Kim-Joy's birthday is World Baking Day, she is convinced that it's a sign she was born to bake. She was born in Belgium to an English father and a Malaysian–Chinese mother, grew up in London and studied in Bristol and Leeds before settling there with her partner. Kim-Joy's mixed-heritage background is a great source of inspiration for her baking, and her passion is bread.
Luke, 30
Luke has been baking since the tender age of 10, and is inspired by his travels through Europe and North America. His minimalistic and clutter-free attitude has a great bearing on his baking, and he prefers to create masterpieces that are clean and precise.
Manon, 26
Frenchwoman Manon learned to bake with her mum and grandmother, who always made everything from scratch. Although she was brought up in a French household, Manon found her passion for baking whilst living in London, and takes baking inspiration from both places.
Rahul, 30
Rahul grew up in Kolkata, moving to the UK at 23 for a university scholarship. As a research scientist, his instinct is to approach baking with a meticulous eye and is fascinated by the science of baking.
Ruby, 29
Ruby says her love of baking came from being the 'mother' of the group once she went to university. She grew up in an Indian family with three siblings, and describes her baking style as 'relaxed and boozy'.
Terry, 56
Terry used to work as a prosthetic technician, and owns a microbrewery and allotment. These all have a bearing on his baking, and his craftmanship is a testament to his background. His family taught him everything he knows about baking, with his dad teaching him to make bread and pastry from the age of just 10.
Meet this year's GBBO contestants...
Antony, 30
Antony describes himself as a 'Bollywood baker', and grew up in India which is where he learned to bake with his father - his baking inspiration. He's unafraid to try out new things and bakes 'unconventionally'. Antony once tasted 50 choux buns on a trip to Paris!
Briony, 33
Briony is a self-taught baker from Bristol who has been inspired by her Nan. She has used YouTube tutorials to learn specific techniques and has been seriously baking on 2013 - and describes herself as a 'whizz' with puff pastry.
Dan, 36
Dan describes himself as a perfectionist, and considers the way a bake looks to be one of the most important elements of baking. He is a full-time father-of-two, which makes home-baking an intrinsic part of his life.
Imelda, 33
Imelda is one of four from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, learning to cook and bake from her mum. She spends a lot of her time baking soda breads and and biscuits for her father and son as well as cakes that she shares with her office.
Jon, 47
Jon, from Wales, loves spending time with his wife and their four children, and bakes to relax after a day at work. He loves 'showy' bakes and researching for new ideas to achieve something unique.
Karen, 60
Having lived in France for 15 years, Karen is a lover of baking and was inspired by the local patisserie - and is now a prolific maker of profiteroles, Religieuse buns, tartes au citron and even foot long eclairs.
Kim-Joy, 27
As Kim-Joy's birthday is World Baking Day, she is convinced that it's a sign she was born to bake. She was born in Belgium to an English father and a Malaysian–Chinese mother, grew up in London and studied in Bristol and Leeds before settling there with her partner. Kim-Joy's mixed-heritage background is a great source of inspiration for her baking, and her passion is bread.
Luke, 30
Luke has been baking since the tender age of 10, and is inspired by his travels through Europe and North America. His minimalistic and clutter-free attitude has a great bearing on his baking, and he prefers to create masterpieces that are clean and precise.
Manon, 26
Frenchwoman Manon learned to bake with her mum and grandmother, who always made everything from scratch. Although she was brought up in a French household, Manon found her passion for baking whilst living in London, and takes baking inspiration from both places.
Rahul, 30
Rahul grew up in Kolkata, moving to the UK at 23 for a university scholarship. As a research scientist, his instinct is to approach baking with a meticulous eye and is fascinated by the science of baking.
Ruby, 29
Ruby says her love of baking came from being the 'mother' of the group once she went to university. She grew up in an Indian family with three siblings, and describes her baking style as 'relaxed and boozy'.
Terry, 56
Terry used to work as a prosthetic technician, and owns a microbrewery and allotment. These all have a bearing on his baking, and his craftmanship is a testament to his background. His family taught him everything he knows about baking, with his dad teaching him to make bread and pastry from the age of just 10.
As Noel revealed that Ruby Bhogal had won Star Baker for the week, fellow presenter Sandi Toksvig became choked up, stumbling over her words with her voice breaking as she revealed that Briony, who she'd become close to, would not be continuing to the final.
Viewers took to Twitter to share their sadness as Briony's departure. One wrote, 'My favourite left Bake Off this week. 😭 All the best for the future Briony!' as another added, 'My favourite....gone 😩😩😩 You were amazing Briony, in every way. You will go far and deservedly so. Thanks for making this year’s Bake Off for SO many people.' sic
Of course, that left Rahul Mandal, Star Baker Ruby and Kim-Joy in the final!
However, Kim-Joy raised a very good point at the end of the episode - each of the finalists has now won Star Baker twice, which means that it's probably the most evenly-balanced GBBO final ever... Who will take the crown?
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