In Tuesday night’s episode of The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4, Sophie was named Star Baker for the first time, and James 46, was the fifth baker to leave the tent.

James said of the experience: ‘It is a huge honour to get into the show, and to get half way through the series was such a privilege it will stay with me the rest of my life. You have the pressure of environment and everyone has their ups and downs but the camaraderie was really great and friendships have been built.

‘With the younger bakers my nurturing father approach came out. It’s in my nature at work to give help and bring out the best in people. With my two adopted baker children Julia and Liam I tried to give them a boost and encourage them, reminding them of how good they are as Bakers. I was so proud of them when they did well, and I will admit I am a big softy at heart.

‘In my biog I described myself as the bald, baking banker because I am not so serious about myself. I am glad that people did like that description, and then followed me on Twitter. When the previous series Bakers started to follow me I got really excited and then when Selasi followed me it really felt like the thrill of being back in the tent. We are all part of the big happy Bake Off family, and it still doesn’t feel real to me to have had the privilege of being part of Bake Off. Whenever I try to explain to people how special it is I say there have been fewer amateur bakers gone into the tent than astronauts into space.

‘My worst moment was the millionaire shortbread. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I carried on. I poured the hot caramel onto the hot biscuit bake and of course it went soggy. That will always haunt me. The time crunch was literally on, it was the enemy of the day on caramel week as the temperature in the tent was so high, everyone had to get their challenges into the fridge as soon as possible.

‘My favourite time was the early part of the morning, checking your recipes at your workstation. Sandi would come in at that time and put her arm round me and we would always have a natter. I thought she was absolutely adorable, so nice and genuine and personable. Sandi and Noel really cared about the bakers and spent so much time with us, which was such a great help.

‘I really like Paul, he is such an interesting character, and I think deep down he is a little bit shy. One day he gave Liam a big hug when he was a bit down, and all the bakers thought that was very endearing. He has got such a breadth of knowledge that he wants to share and he is so passionate about it. You can see sometimes he is itching to help but can’t do that until the judging is over. When the cameras are off he will come round and say this is how you should have done it. We are of a similar age, fairly happy go lucky guys, we are serious about what we do, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. Paul is always willing to share information and was always generous with his time.

‘Prue has such a breadth of knowledge it can be quite intimidating, but on the first week ‘s challenge when I had a soggy bottom on my rhubarb cake she was so disarming. She said it tasted good and nothing that a bowl of custard couldn’t help, which was lovely. She is so good at giving such positive feedback, and she has a great sense of humour. Prue is so good for Bake Off as she has so much to offer, she doesn’t pull any punches, and has the right balance of giving great advice in an honest and positive way.

‘My colleagues at the bank were shocked and pleased when they found out I was going to be in the series. Everyone was really positive and supportive, they have really got into it and backed me all the way, but I do get asked for cakes wherever I go. Once a week I take cakes into work and during my practising for Bake Off they were all unsuspecting guinea pigs. They love my Viennesse whirls and my millionaire shortbread is a firm favourite.

‘I love getting out to my allotment or taking the dog for a walk, I love the escape to the country from the concrete jungle of the city. Anything that is in season we get a glut of, so the freezer is full of soft fruit at the moment, I now have to catch up on my jam making. The chickens give us eggs for all my bakes, we are pretty self-sufficient, all I need now is a wheat field and I can mill my own flour!

‘Like me and my father I now teach my two sons how to bake, and of course they get so excited seeing themselves on telly. My son’s food technology teacher commented that she is loving the show and for a dad to hear that back makes me feel really proud of what I have achieved. As a family we watch the show together and have various friends and family round and I bake each challenge from that particular week.

‘My dad has always been so humble and says “you are miles better than me as a baker”, but I always tell him that he gave me the passion for baking from an early age. He is so proud, he is like a peacock at the moment at his bowls club, and my mum is secretly pleased at her coffee mornings.

‘I enjoy my city job and I don’t intend to leave that, although I would like to do more baking. Bake Off was good at stretching me into areas I hadn’t gone to previously - I think I was stuck in a baking rut before. I now want to go on a baking tour round Essex to meet all the artisan bakers, and learn from them. I want to continue baking, and would love at some stage to do some teaching at my son’s food technology class – if they will have me!

At the end of the episode Paul gave James a big hug and said: ‘ I am all for you buddy.’

Prue added: ‘We will really miss James in the tent. Julia was really sobbing her eyes out and who was comforting her – James - that’s typical of James, he is just such a nice guy’.

James said: ‘ My time has come, it’s gutting. I wanted to do this to put myself against other really good Bakers to see how good I was. To be part of that has been really humbling.’

Biography

James (Aged 46) - Essex

James lives in Essex with his wife Ann, two sons Oliver & Ethan and their three chickens: Sparkles, Superman and Jeff. James describes himself as a bald, baking banker from Brentwood with a bad back. His friends say he looks more like a bank robber than a banker. Always keen to embark on a challenge, James also trained as a port diver for the Royal Navy Reserves, where it was his job to keep the ports clear during the cold war. When he’s not banking in Canary Wharf, James loves to spend his free time in the fresh air at his allotment, growing fruit and vegetables to incorporate into his bakes. James’ main baking influence is his father, Brian, who first taught him to bake over 40 years ago.

James will join Jo Brand on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice on Thursday 28 September, Channel 4 at 10.00 pm.