One of this year’s Bake Off hopefuls was entered onto the show by her chef boyfriend, it has been revealed.
Former army officer Sophie Faldo, 33, only recently realised her talent for baking after making a birthday cake for a friend.
Boyfriend David Slattery, a chef at the prestigious Palm Hotel restaurant in Dubai, picked up on her talents and put her forward for the popular show.
Pictured: Sophie Faldo, 33, was entered into the programme by her chef boyfriend
He made the announcement last night after revealing his phone ‘hadn’t stopped’ since Sophie was unveiled as a contender.
Posting to Facebook, David wrote: ‘So since the news has now broke of Sophie being in the Great British Bake Off is now out, I would like to address the following to stop my phone from being a vibrator:
- A: Yes! I did know she was in it, I entered her myself
- B: Yes! We are excited.
- C: Channel 4, sometime next week, read a tabloid, they will tell you.
- D: I don’t know if you can place bets
‘All jump aboard #TeamSophie!’
While Sophie hinted on Twitter it was hard to keep the news private, writing: ‘Phone is going crazy. This is a bit mad. Glad the secret is out now though.’
The show will return to screens on Tuesday night, premiering on Channel 4 for the first time since Love Productions made the move from BBC1.
An aspiring stunt-woman, rower and cyclist, Sophie now counts caking among her many hobbies. Pictured above: Sophie with a friend
Talented: Sophie graduated graduated with a masters in psychology while studying at the University of Toulouse in France before joining the British Army
An aspiring stunt-woman, rower and cyclist, Sophie now counts caking among her many hobbies.
She graduated with a masters in psychology while studying at the University of Toulouse in France before joining the British Army.
After serving in the Royal Artillery as an officer, she left and moved to Surrey with her boyfriend David and their pet Loki.
She credits having her own kitchen for the first time which helped get her into baking.
And since she volunteered to bake a friend a cake to celebrate their birthday, she hasn’t looked back.
Sophie is also a keen track cyclist. In an online profile, she said her motto was ‘Train hard, fight easy – one I stole from my Army days.’
She said she got into the sport after becoming injured, writing: ‘I started cycling to rehabilitate myself from a back injury when I was a full time rower. My back took longer to heal than I thought and it turned out that I preferred cycling anyway.’
Already a winner, Sophie picked up a gold medal for the sprint at the National Track Masters Champs after only having cycled for a few months.
She described it as her ‘proudest moment’ yet.