Just a few weeks ago, Candice Brown was crowned the winner of this year’s series of The Great British Bake Off, after going up against Andrew Smyth and Jane Beedle in a tense picnic hamper-themed finale.
Since then, she has been encouraged to leave her job as a PE teacher at Ashlyns School in Hertfordshire, in order to pursue the foodie-themed career of her dreams. But she’s now revealed just how hard she worked to gain her place in the Bake Off tent.
During an interview with ITV’s Loose Women, Candice explained that she had always wanted to appear on the show alongside Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, but, when she sent off her application form, she found herself rejected.
Slightly disheartened, Candice tried again the following year – and, again, the BBC politely turned her down. But, while most people would give up at this point, Candice has always been a fan of the ‘try and try again’ philosophy.
Encouraged by her boyfriend Liam Macaulay, she sent off yet another application form – and, this time, she was successful.
“I didn't expect to even get on the show and then week by week until being the winner, it feels so alien,” the 31-year-old explained.
It’s always said that we can’t judge people by their failures – but we can judge them by how they handle them. And Candice can definitely be seen as an inspiration in this respect; instead of accepting no for an answer, she kept working hard to make her dreams a reality, and recognised that you can get to that fairytale ending, but it all depends on what you’re willing to put in to get there.
As the interview took place on her first working day since leaving her job as a teacher, the panel asked Candice how she was feeling about her decision – and the talented baker explained that she was still riding an emotional rollercoaster.
“It's been a whirlwind. I'm not great with making big decisions. I still feel myself a teacher. My boss Ellie and the head teacher said, ‘look Candice you need to take this opportunity’. I'd said ‘no, I can go to Christmas’, and I was going in and they were saying ‘you look quite tired’.”
Candice added that it'll take her awhile to get used to her change of career, confessing: “I feel nervous. I feel horrendous. It's hard. The school have been amazing. It was sad, because it was so short notice. I kept saying to people ‘don't look at me’.”
But she’s looking forward to the challenges ahead, hinting that a cookbook and a television show (rumoured to be a European baking road-trip with fellow Bake Off star Jane) might be in order.
“A book would be amazing,” she admitted, adding: “People are going to be sick of my face and voice.”
Fingers crossed she also has time to bring out that lipstick range that people are whispering about, eh?
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