Who is Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins? Meet the Edinburgh University student who triumphed on GBBO 2020

The Scottish student was crowned The Great British Bake Off winner, making him the youngest contestant to have won the show

The Great British Bake Off is one of the most beloved TV programmes in the UK, in which aspiring bakers do their best to put together delicious cakes, breads, tarts, biscuits and more.

Included in the lineup for the 2020 series was Peter, a 20 year old student from Edinburgh, who managed to claim star baker in the first episode and rounded off the series by winning.

This is everything you need to know about the Scottish baker who won this year's Great British Bake Off.

The new series of the baking competition starts on 22 September (Photo: Channel 4)

Who is Peter?

Peter is a 20 year old student from Edinburgh who is studying accounting and finance. He is also originally from the capital as well.

Following his win, Peter said: “I want to finish my degree and I will continue to bake. That’s another two years, my studies are top priority.

"I don’t know what will come out of this but I hope there are a few fun opportunities that I can take up!”

He revealed that he watched the The Great British Bake Off final at home with his flatmates, from whom he had kept the results a secret from.

Peter said: “I watched the final with my flatmates.

"I made something similar to the choux buns in the Showstopper, so it did have an element of the bake in it!

"For lockdown reasons, it couldn’t exactly be a party, but it was great to celebrate with my flatmates and have a few drinks.”

Speaking of his experience on the show, he said: “I think Bake Off has changed my life. It is the most intense and challenging experience of my life, so I think I have learned a lot and have grown up whilst being in the Bake Off bubble.”

What have Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood said about him?

Judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood praised the Scottish youngster, with Prue likening him to her grandson.

She said: “Do you know, I am terribly proud of Peter and I feel as if he is my grandson. He is such a nice guy and he is so eager to learn, you can’t not like him.”

Paul added: “Peter should be exceptionally proud. He is the youngest winner we have ever had, and the first Scottish winner.”

When did he start baking?

He grew up watching The Great British Bake Off, which actually inspired him to first start baking for himself. He has watched every series since the first one in 2010, and has been baking seriously since he was 12 years old.

He says he likes to include Scottish ingredients in his creations - such as berries, whisky, oats and honey - whenever he can.

Before the show aired, Peter revealed that his strengths were “time management and planning” and his weaknesses were “artistic decoration and bread baking.”

Speaking about appearing on The Great British Bake Off, Pete said, “[I was] absolutely chuffed! It was a long and uncertain path getting to the tent.

“I was just so excited to get baking in the tent and fulfil this amazing dream.”

When asked which of the former Great British Bake Off contestants he would want to isolate with, Peter said, “Maybe Selasi. He would keep our bubble very chilled out.”

When he’s not baking, he enjoys playing badminton - he has played badminton for over a decade, and even represented his county in the sport since 2012.

Who else was in the lineup?

These were the others in the lineup for this series of The Great British Bake Off:

- Dave, 30, an armoured guard from Hampshire

- Hermine, 39, an accountant from London

- Laura, 31, a digital manager from Kent

- Linda, 61, a retirement living team leader from East Sussex

- Loriea, 27, a diagnostic radiographer from Durham

- Lottie, 31, a pantomime producer from West Sussex

- Makbul, 51, an accountant from Greater Manchester

- Marc, 51, a bronze resin sculptor from Cornwall

- Mark, 32, a project manager from Liverpool

- Rowan, 55, a music teacher from Worcestershire

- Sura, 31, a pharmacy dispenser from London

The new series will saw a new face as a co-host – Matt Lucas, who starred alongside Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith and Noel Fielding.

Sandi Tokvig left The Great British Bake Off in January after three years in the tent, in order to be able to work on other projects.

Speaking about her decision to leave, Toksvig said, “When stepping down from a job it is quite common for people to say they are doing so in order to spend more time with their family. Unusually I am departing from the The Great British Bake Off so I can spend more time with my other work.

“As my waistline will testify, Bake Off is an all-consuming show. Spending time with Prue, Paul and Noel has been one of the great pleasures of my life. These are friendships which I know will continue beyond the confines of television.

“Bake Off is a wonderful programme which has already proved it can happily withstand a change of hosting personnel. The reason for that, of course, is that the true stars of the show are the bakers themselves. I wish everyone well.”