EXCLUSIVE: We found the man who bested Bake Off star... despite BBC gagging order

Ian Cumming has won the title of Star Baker three times

WE can today reveal the Bake Off champion the BBC didn’t want you to know about.

 

When three-time star baker Ian ­Cumming revealed on the Great British Bake Off that he had only managed second place in a local village baking contest, News News Blog resolved to track down the master cook who had beaten him.

Through copies of local newspaper the Warbler and residents in the small Cambridgeshire village where Ian lives, we managed to pinpoint the finalists in last summer’s Wilbrahams and Six Mile Bottom vegetable, flower and produce show.

Yet before we got to winner Ben Whybrow, the BBC publicity machine stepped in and told residents not to reveal Ben’s identity to the press.

They then failed to respond to requests to change their tactics.

I remember I baked a strawberry shortcake but if I’m completely honest it’s not too tricky to recall because I hardly ever bake

Ben Whybrow

 

However, villagers refused to be cowed by their demands for silence and Mr Whybrow, a 22-year old NHS physiotherapist, stepped forward to confirm he was Ian’s nemesis.

He revealed that he does not even bake regularly and when he does it rarely passes the taste test of his hard-to-please mother Judy.

It was his strawberry shortcake, however, that impressed the judges at last summer’s fete far more than Ian’s apple tart.

Ben Whybrow won a local village baking contest against Ian ­Cumming

“I had no idea who I’d beaten at last year’s show until someone told me he was going to be on the telly,” said Ben.

“I’ve never really met the guy, even though we live in the same village.

“I remember I baked a strawberry shortcake but if I’m completely honest it’s not too tricky to recall because I hardly ever bake. In fact, I’m a bit naff.

“Before I entered it in the competition my mum tasted it and said it was ‘terrible’ but I went ahead and put it in for judging. I seem to recall Ian made an apple tart but it obviously wasn’t up to my standard.”

Ben said he watches the show “occasionally” with his mother, who is an avid fan.

“We sit down and have our tea and watch them on the TV,” he said.

 

“I had no idea that the hot favourite for the title was the guy I beat at our local summer show. If he does win maybe I should challenge him to a proper bake off?”

Villagers were bemused at the BBC’s attempts to keep Ben’s identity under wraps.

One said: “Ian got in touch with the BBC and they had told him that if anyone wants to know anything they must speak to them.

“I can’t understand why it’s such a big deal.

“I’m sure not many people could tell you who won last year’s men’s competition but if they could what does it matter? It’s a bit crazy.”

Rosie White, who organised the village baking contest in Great Wilbraham, said: “It seems as if the BBC aren’t happy about people talking to the press about anything to do with the programme.”

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom for 42-year-old Ian when it comes to local bakery shows.

He won the village Christmas Bake Off with a cake topped with a festive tree of pale green and white macaroons, wowing the judges in the memorial hall.

The top prize at the annual summer jamboree has so far eluded him, however.

Last week Ian’s reign as star baker ended and judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood said he was in danger of being sent home after his honey and pear cake did not go down well.

But the father-of-two managed to pull it back with his tropical-flavoured ice cream roll, created to look like a desert island.