'Liam won!': Bake Off fans refuse to accept final result

Last night, 33-year-old former army officer Sophie Faldo won the Great British Bake Off – or did she? A number of the Channel 4 show's fans beg to differ.

Supporters of this year's youngest contestant, 19-year-old Liam "Cake Boy" Charles, have been widely celebrating his "win" on social media, despite the face that Charles was eliminated from the baking contest two weeks ago.

One fan even edited Charles's face into the winner's photo, while another made a joking reference to Bake Off judge Prue Leith's social media gaffe, in which she accidentally revealed Faldo had won several hours before the final was broadcast.

 While many viewers were still in denial, others had moved further along the five stages of grief to depression.

They would find some sympathy from Telegraph critic Michael Hogan, who had previously praised the teenager from Hackney as "the prince of presentation" whose "flavours were second to none", adding that "something tells me this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Liam".

Charles would not be the first Bake Off contestant to miss out on TV victory, but find success outside the show. Ruby Tandoh, who was narrowly beaten in the series four final, went on to become a columnist for the Guardian and Elle magazine, and has published two cookery books – Crumb and Flavour. Meanwhile Chetna Makan, who made it as far as the semi-finals in series five, has also released two books and now hosts a popular YouTube channel. There might well be a bright future for Cake Boy yet.