Why Bake-Off has a record audience queueing up for more

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Tents encounter: Mel, Sue, Mary and Paul A colleague's student daughter, another convert, reports leaving a friend's 21st birthday party with a group of fellow Bake Off nuts at university last week to watch grown-ups pipe cream into pastry “horns”. After five years of resistance, I felt ground down, like an organic spelt flour, by the annual water cooler chat about scandals involving baked Alaskas and the unexpected thrill of watching stuff rise slowly. In reality TV terms, Bake Off is as guilt-free as “hot” Tamal's sugar-free polenta cake from episode five, when Nadiya emerged as my favourite to win. I'll be there, sitting like a schmuck in my slippers and my best “indoors jumper”, any residual sense of cynicism long since sieved out of me, and I'll probably stay awake.