Who won 'Bake Off' 2020: Paul Hollywood calls it 'closest to a draw it's ever been'

Watch: GBBO crowns its 2020 champion in close finale

The winner of The Great British Bake Off 2020 has been announced as Peter Sawkins in the closest final the contest has ever seen.

He is the youngest ever winner of the series at 20 years old, and the first ever Scottish winner of Bake Off.

Peter, Dave and Laura were this year’s finalists, but after Laura had a disaster in the first two rounds, it was a two-horse race between Peter and Dave to see who would be crowned the winner.

Read more: Bake Off’s Laura calls for kindness from viewers over show result

Ruling Laura out of the top spot as judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith went into their deliberations, Hollywood said: “This is as close to a draw than I've ever seen.”

The pair had been neck and neck with near-perfect custard slices in the signature bake, where Peter presented a cranachan-inspired slice and Dave’s was caramel latte flavoured.

Laura had made a yuzu custard slice which delivered on flavour, but refused to set, leaving her crying into the fridge at the end of the round.

Then, when Dave won the technical challenge to make eight walnut whips, Peter came second, and Laura was in last place, her fate was sealed as one of this year’s runners up.

Presenter Noel Fielding’s pep talk to Laura about Bjorn Borg’s attitude of only looking forward and forgetting about previous failures was a hit with viewers - and one of last year’s contestants confirmed Fielding was a favourite with the bakers, too.

An inspired showstopper round tasked the bakers with making a tower of treats to represent their time on Bake Off, including some of their favourite creations as well as those they would have liked to improve on.

With all three bakers facing a nearly equal balance of successes and failures on their towers, it was too close to call who would be the winner as Hollywood and Leith began their difficult final judging task.

After hearing he’d won, Peter said: “I can’t quite believe that I’m here. I can’t quite believe that I made it on the show. I can’t quite believe the show happened.

“This is going to be a really huge chapter in my life, and what a way for it to end.”

Prue Leith said: “I feel as if he’s my grandson, he’s such a nice guy.”

It’s been an extraordinary year on Bake Off, with contestants, stars and production crew made to form a bubble so that they could film the series in line with COVID restrictions.

University student Peter said: “Lots of people at uni have travelled the world, done amazing things, I feel sometimes I haven't experienced as much.

“But there are 100 people locked in here, we are the only 100 people who have experienced this.”

That meant that many of the bakers had not seen their loved ones throughout the contest, and sadly things weren’t about to change at the finalists’ garden party.

Usually, the garden party is a celebration of the final three bakers with their friends, family, and former competitors watching as the winner is announced.

But this year, the crowd was entirely made up of production crew who had been in the show’s bubble for filming.

It was no less emotional for the finalists, though, despite the toned-down celebration.

Peter said: “I wanted this a lot.”

Admitting that he had watched series three, his favourite series which was won by John Whaite “eight or nine times”, he said: “I really am a Bake Off nerd.

“I think 12-year-old Peter would be in awe.”

The series finished with an emotional look at what the bakers had been doing since the series ended, where we were introduced to Dave’s new baby son who was born in October.

It ended with a dedication to Luis Troyano, a former finalist who died earlier this year.

Watch: Horn of Plenty was the funniest challenge of Bake Off 2020