Peterborough's Great British Bake Off Winner Matty talks new book, heading back into the classroom and his baking inspiration

In his own words, it has been a “strange” few months for Stanground’s Matty Edgell where so much has changed in his life but also stayed the same.

In September, the teacher at Hampton College was getting ready for the world so find out his passion outside of the classroom, baking.

A little over two months later and it was revealed that Matty had seen off nine of the most talented amateur bakers in the country, in the summer. to be crowned the Great British Bake Off Champion 2023 by judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.

As the final of the his Channel 4 show aired at the end of November, Matty gathered all of his family of friends that were not in on the secret for a special watch party at the Ruddy Duck pub in Peakirk.

Since then, Matty has had no problem keeping his feet on the ground as he continues to teach both PE and science at the school. He is now in his fifth year of teaching after completing his training at City of Peterborough Academy.

He said: “It’s been strange, there’s not been a huge change, day-to-day, I’m still teaching and that’s normal for me but now I’m doing interviews here and there during lunchtimes. So there’s not been a hug change which makes it all a bit more bizarre.

“I was most nervous for the students to find out because you never know how they’re going to react, but I’ve been gobsmacked as to have good they’ve been. They’ve been so invested and willing to laugh at the mistakes but praise me for all of the things that have went well. I can’t thank them enough for that.

“It was also quite a nice dose of normality throughout all of it. It can feel like I’ve got a lot on my plate but when you’re in a classroom, you can’t not think about the students and it’s the perfect switch off.”

A new venture?

The show was filmed between April and July across a series of weekends at the picturesque Welford Park in Berkshire before being broadcast from September.

With transmission now over, attention turns to capitalising on his success, and among the plans which fans can perhaps look forward to is a new book, but there is no rush into any major new projects before the new year.

Matty added: “I don’t have a hard-line plan. A book is probably realistic and would be cool. There’s no date in my mind when I’d like to happen though and the rest of it, we’ll see.

"I’d be lying if I said I haven’t looked at what previous winners of the show are up to now.

“I’m realistic in my expectations, I’m hopeful that something exciting will come but at the moment, I don’t know. I will know more in the new year. I’m just enjoying the ride at the minute.”

Matty’s inspiration

The news of Matty even being on the show took many in his life by surprise as it was not something he regularly discussed aside from making birthday cakes here and there.

He does, however, credit his baking talent to his grandmother- an extremely talented baker herself with a teddy bear cake she made Matty for his fourth birthday still living in the memory today- as well as his parents.

“It’s difficult for me to put my finger on how I started out. My nan passed away when I was five or six so I didn’t grow up watching her bake but there’s some stand out bakes she used to make for me that have stuck with me, Matty remembered.

"I know that she was very talented, she used to make wedding cakes for people as a hobby. She was my first introduction to it but my parents facilitated it in me, baking isn’t cheap or clean when you’re young!

“It was a complete shock to so many people who know me to find out my passing for it. I’d only really make birthday cakes, it would never be too much outside of that or to the scale I do now.

“I remember mine and Lara’s engagement party. I made a cake for that and people asked where we brought it from and that was my friend’s first insight into the fact that I can put a cake together. So I suppose that was a good confidence boost.”

"It’s like stepping into your TV”

Getting on the show even came as somewhat a surprise for Matty who didn’t even enter himself, rather it was his fiancee who filled out the application and pushed him to give the show a go in that proved to be a decision that led to a “once in a lifetime” experience inside the tent.

Matty said: “I wouldn’t never have submitted the application so I have to credit Lara with that one.

“I’ve always watched the show but never saw myself as being part of it. To walk into the tent was so strange and the only way I can describe it is like stepping into your TV, it is exactly how you expect it to look.

“Alison and Noel are so great as well. Sometimes they are the perfect distraction and they’re just what you need to feel at ease again and other times, you’re up against it and you’re just trying to carry on what you’re doing and not be rude. They understand what the bakers are going through though and they’re really good.

“Both of them make you feel at ease in different ways because you’re so out of your comfort zone.”

As Matty looks ahead to the future, the bond forged between the bakers on the show remains strong as Matty revealed the cast still meet up and remain in contact with what each other are up to now that the show has finished.

He added: “We were with each other on Saturday actually, we went to watch Alison in her panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome. We still speak and share each other’s experiences with what’s coming next. The relationship we had on-screen is very true to what it is off-screen, we all get on very well.

“The whole thing was a once in a lifetime experience, that’s for sure.”