THIS year, we are lucky enough to have two contestants representing Sussex in the Great British Bake Off - Lottie Bedlow from Littlehampton and Linda from Bexhill.

With both bakers impressing judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, and securing their spots in week four of the competition, we decided to find out a bit more about each of the the pair in turn.

The Argus:

Lottie Bedlow, 31, from Littlehampton

Lottie is a 31-year-old pantomime producer from Littlehampton.

The pastry-maker believes baking is in her blood, with her Lancastrian great grandmother known to have created plenty of tasty cakes in her time.

She has always taken a keen interest in baking, often ditching her toys for cooking shows as a youngster.

 

On several occasions, her family found her fervently scribbling down notes from cookery books - and her thirst for knowledge has seen her thrive so far in the Bake Off tent.

The Sussex baking star joked she would never wash her hand again after earning the first heralded Hollywood handshake of the series for her "quarantine florentines".

The perfect bake and characteristically bold flavours of sour cherries, ginger, dark chocolate and almonds forced a flabbergasted Paul to admit: "I can't find a fault with them really."

Other memorable bakes in the Bake Off tent so far include a cake bust of Louis Theroux and a rhubarb and custard flavoured battenburg with a star-shaped pattern from instead of the usual checkerboard design.

Lottie holds herself to a very high standard, describing herself as a "perpetually frustrated perfectionist".

She also told the show's organisers she hoped her bakes would retain "an element of her dark sense of humour".

This was certainly apparent in biscuit week, when she crafted a Viking boat from biscuits and jam.

 

"I’m making a really soft-set jam. I want it to look like blood," she explained.

And, as it turned out, her passion for Vikings goes beyond patisserie tributes.

In her initial introduction on the show, comic and host Matt Lucas said: "Lottie lives in Littlehampton and unwinds from her job as a pantomime producer by listening to Viking metal pop while baking and doing yoga with her friend."

She also enjoys playing computer games with her young cousins.