Great British Bake Off 2016: Val leaves the tent after Bakewell tart disaster as Candice wins star baker

The competition is hotting up as a number of bakers are still in with a shot at victory

Bakers Andrew, Candice and Jane hard at work in the GBBO tent during Pastry Week (BBC Pictures)

Pastry Week has been and gone on The Great British Bake Off, taking another baker with it in its frenzied, floury, sometimes show-stopping and other times soggy-bottomed wake.

Sadly, we have seen the last of the popular Val Stones, she who likes to do aerobics in the kitchen while waiting for her jams to boil. The retired primary school headteacher from Somerset reminded many of us of our lovely nans, and will be missed. Her series highlight? Surely making an ark in Bread Week but only putting one of each animal in it. Someone was not listening during RE lessons.

Oh and, hilariously, it seems she has been making her family raw Bakewell tarts every single week, which Twitter loved.

Val wasn’t the only one to have a patisserie ‘mare, however, as aerospace engineer Andrew Smyth forgot to turn his oven on while attempting his tart in the technical. “It’s not cooking! That’s unfortunate!” he said, almost rivalling fellow baker Selasi Gbormittah in the chill stakes (almost...nobody can rival Selasi in the chill stakes).

Selasi is easily the most relaxed baker ever seen on GBBO (BBC)

Star baker on the other hand, went to the tent’s resident lipstick queen Candice Brown for a second time, much to her evident delight. The PE teacher first won during Biscuit Week and deserved it again in our books, not merely on the basis of her impressive black pudding amuse-bouches but for the many innuendos she threw into the mixing bowl.

Val tackles Mary Berry's Bakewell tart technical challenge (BBC ) (BBC)

“It’s good to get your hands in and give your sausages a good squeeze,” she said, as we all chuckled naughtily into whatever baked goods we’d smuggled out of the shops and into the sofa on the way home from work.

Last week saw us wave farwell to Brownie leader Kate Barmby after the show’s first ever Batter Week demanded Yorkshire puddings, lace pancakes and churros showstoppers from our bakers.

Selasi, Benjamina, Tom, Rav, Jane, Andrew and Candice are still in the running to win the coveted title of GBBO Champion 2016 while outside the tent, all eyes remain on judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood who have yet to announce whether, unlike hosts Mel and Sue, they will be “going with the dough” and moving to Channel 4 with the show next year.

Next week will be another first, Botanical Week, with the bakers tasked with making floral showstoppers.

The Great British Bake Off returns next week at 8pm on BBC1