How student went from YouTube to Bake Off

A student taking part in the new series of the Great British Bake Off says he taught himself to bake after "stumbling across a YouTube video".

When Mo Mahir, 22, from West Bromwich, was nine years old, he "found a video of a guy making a mug cake in a microwave", which he said ignited his passion for baking.

"I feel like as a Bengali, we don't really have a lot of cakes or baking in our cultural background. It started with me mixing a bunch of random stuff. My mum used to always be shouting at me saying, 'stop, that's making a mess’."

As part of the Channel 4 series, Mahir, a student at Birmingham City University, has been competing against 12 other bakers.

"Growing up, I've always loved cakes and cookies and stuff and I've always wanted to eat them, but it's just that we never always got the, like, freshly baked stuff. So I kind of had to teach myself.

"Nothing turned out right because I wasn't measuring anything, but it slowly just progressed from there," Mahir added.

On week one of the competition, Mahir landed star baker after he stunned TV judges Nigella Lawson and Paul Hollywood with his peanut and caramel chocolate stout cake.

On week two, viewers watched him bake a biscuit mosaic. His newfound TV fame means he has been spotted while out and about in Birmingham.

"It's been really positive, just like all the DM's [direct messages] I'm getting on Instagram is very supportive and kind.

"When I'm going to town to do a bit of shopping, I do get recognised and people are like rooting for me, and it's just nice to see and hear that."

Mahir's former teacher Sam Hayes, from George Salter Academy, previously said: "When I found out he would be going on, I knew he would do really well.

"I'll always remember being brought some of the delicious treats Mo had baked at home, a very welcome perk of having such a talented student.

"He always was an absolutely amazing baker while he was at school," he added.

Other contestants competing to win the series include a paediatric doctor, a competitive sprinter, a hairdresser and a drag artist.

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