Dermot O’Leary wins coveted Great Celebrity Bake Off Star Baker apron

Dermot O’Leary was awarded the Star Baker apron on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer on Channel 4 on Sunday.

The television presenter, 50, was delighted to have impressed judges Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.

He and his fellow famous contestants Spice Girl Mel B, 48, comedian Fern Brady, 37, and radio presenter Greg James, 38, were tasked with making iced buns in the Signature category, a family classic in the Technical bake and a Showstopper where they created their celebrity lookalike in biscuit form.

Dermot said after winning the the Stand Up To Cancer Star Baker apron: ‘I’m thrilled. I genuinely thought Fern was going to win because she’s been knocking it out the park the last couple of weeks.

‘I’m going to have it framed!’

The Signature bake involved the celebrities baking eight iced buns each, with the flavour and the decoration meaning something special to each of the bakers.

Mel B made some Caribbean spice ice buns in honour of her late father who was from the island of Nevis.

She used his favourite rum to flavour the buns but ran into trouble from the outset when she failed to accurately measure her ingredients and instead guessed the proportions.

Melanie’s father Martin died in March 2017 after a battle with myeloma cancer. 

Mel said of her late father: ‘My dad unfortunately died of cancer so this is very important for me to do. It’s a horrible disease so this is my way of giving something back to him.’

Fern made Swedish-style knotted buns which she flavoured with cardamon.

Dermot chose to make fruits of the forest iced buns, with his bake being inspired by his childhood.

He said he was a ‘kid of the 80s’ and ‘fruits of the forest was everywhere’.

Dermot was congratulated by judge Paul Hollywood for ‘recreating the flavours of my childhood’.

This Morning host Dermot said he was ‘choked up’ to get a congratulatory handshake from Paul. 

Greg chose to make iced buns similar to those he ate from a local bakery growing up.

However, he added custard to make them extra special.

But Greg was criticised for the texture of his custard, with judge Paul saying it would bounce back up off the ground if he dropped it.

The bakers were next tasked with making a chocolate and raspberry roulade with meringue and a Chantilly cream swirl.

Greg appeared to struggle as he embarked on the first step – making the flourless sponge.

He joked: ‘Basically what I need is my mum to be here.’

Host Alison Hammond was impressed by Mel B’s skills as she got the perfect texture of the cream.

Mel was seen holding the bowl of cream up above her head, with the cream staying firmly put.

Alison said: ‘I find this quite amazing. You inspired a whole generation of women,’ to which Mel joked: ‘To not cook!’

Paul said of all the finished products: ‘We have all the elements but not necessarily in the right order.’

He said of Mel’s roulade: ‘I’m not sure what happened with this. It looks like a slipper. It’s a mess. It’s a trifle!’

Dame Prue Leith and Paul decided Greg came in fourth place for his roulade, saying: ‘It’s just not the right shape but it tasted ok.’

Mel came third while Dermot came second, with Dame Prue saying of Dermot’s: ‘This is a really good roulade but it’s not the right shape.’

Fern came out on top for the chocolate roulade round, prompting her to say: ‘I’m quite surprised. It’s the first time I’ve ever made one.’

The celebrities were the asked to make a biscuit that looked like their famous doppelgänger.

Fern decided to make Boy George because she’s been told that she looks like him often and ‘we’re both very heavy with make-up’.

She decided to use gingerbread biscuits sandwiched with cream cheese filling.

Mel also decided to make a spiced ginger bread biscuit but misunderstood the brief and decided to make a celebrity portrait of herself.

Scary Spice decorated her biscuit by using mango buttercream.

Greg decided to make a biscuit portrait of Clare Balding, using lemon shortbread.

Dermot used custard flavoured biscuit to make a portrait of his screen idol, actor James Norton, adding that he would want him to play him in a film.

Hosts Alison and Noel Fielding were unable to contain themselves, bursting into laughter as Greg presented judges Dame Prue and Paul with his biscuit.

Paul said: ‘I think it’s wonderful and I think the fact you’ve done two biscuits is great.’

Greg admitted he was a bit rushed to finish at the end, joking: ‘It turns out it takes more than three hours to make Clare Balding’s face.’

Dame Prue told Fern of her Boy George biscuit: ‘It tastes great. There’s lots of ginger but it’s very hard and thick. It is delicious though, well done.’

She said of Dermot’s custard cream biscuit of James Norton: ‘The biscuit’s a bit soft, that needed a bit longer in the oven.’

While Paul said: ‘The bottom’s a bit thick. It could have done with a bit longer in the oven. It tastes very good.’