The Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy reveals plans for after the show
We can't wait!
Author: Emma Dodds & Tom DambachPublished 30th Oct 2018 Last updated 30th Oct 2018
This year's series of The Great British Bake Off has been one of the best yet - there's been the perfect balance of lovely, fuzzy friendship and intense, nail-biting cake topples. However, ahead of tonight's final (30th Oct), pretty much no-one can call who will win.
Finalist Kim-Joy, from Leeds, even joked during last week's episode that it must be the most evenly-balanced final ever, considering that each of the three finalists has each won two Star Bakers.
Kim-Joy spoke to our sister station, Radio Aire, today, and she revealed that the obvious rapport between the contestants is in no way just for show; it's genuine friendship.
"A lot of people said to us that the rapport this year has been really good," she agreed. "Everyone's been really supportive and we felt that as well. Ruby helped calm my nerves quite a lot, so going into the final was probably the least nerve-wracking of all the weeks, just because you felt really happy to have gotten that far and I think we all just felt we'd all done really well."
Well, to get to the final of Bake Off is no mean feat! Of course, Kim-Joy didn't drop any spoilers about the outcome of the show, but she did say that taking part in the show had grown her confidence in a huge way.
She explained, "When I reached the final it felt so surreal, and I was so happy. I felt really proud of myself because I felt I'd overcome so much to get to that stage," adding that she'd never dared to let herself hope about what she'd achieve on the show. "I didn't want to have to deal with the disappointment," she admitted, "So when it actually happened it was like, 'Wow, I can relax now!'
"I just felt this big wave of, 'I've proven that I can do this' - but looking back on it, I think just getting on the show itself was an achievement."
Swipe through to see The Great British Bake Off 2018 contestants... How many can you remember?
Meet this year's GBBO contestants...
The Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy reveals plans for after the show
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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.
Kim-Joy also revealed that she'd felt a desire to try her hand at Bake Off for a few years, but had never felt confident enough to try. "I've watched it for a few years, and people were always telling me to apply," she revealed. "But I never quite felt I had a big enough range of skill to get on there.
"But this year, I felt a lot more confident and ready to do it. I just wanted to go on there – it's a big challenge, it's an amazing thing to be able to do and I was just so shocked to find out that I'd actually got on it, and to get this far."
The mental health specialist also opened up about the worst part of the show - it will come as no surprise to viewers that she found Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith's judging the most nerve-wracking part of the show.
"Waiting to go up and be judged is probably the worst time," she admitted. "You don't really have anything to occupy you. At least during the actual bake you're doing stuff, so you're busy and can't think of anything else.
"But when you're waiting to go up and be judged, you're just looking at your bake and thinking, 'What if they notice this, which way round should I present it', and then you're hearing what they're saying about other people's, and you think, 'Oh God they're going to pick up the same thing about mine.'
"You overthink everything. The judging got a bit easier towards the end because there were less people, so there's less time for that nervousness to build up."
The 27-year-old also opened up about her hopes for the future, and expressed a desire to write a book. She said, "After Bake Off, I just want to put my all into everything, to get as much as possible from the experience and hopefully... I'd love to write a book, so we'll see what happens there!
"I just want to take on as many opportunities as possible and make the most of it because I feel so lucky to have got on this show and to have this brilliant platform, and then to get to the final - it's mind-blowing."
You can watch the final of The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm.
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