Candice Brown proved to be as meticulous with her statement lipstick as she was with her ambitious and complicated bakes.

The PE teacher, who was crowned Star Baker three times throughout the series before being named the eventual winner, sported a rainbow of shades in the tent that sparked a national conversation.

Mark Bourdillon/BBC
(Mark Bourdillon/BBC)

Her lip colour, which ranged from dark plum to hot pink, became such a signature that co-host Mel Giedroyc volunteered to reapply it for her during the semi-final.

But it was her bakes that really dazzled – from the gingerbread recreation of the pub she grew up in, complete with sticky ginger cake carpet, to the marzipan peacock with a blueberry surprise inside she baked in Tudor Week.

She frequently went beyond the brief, creating far more work for herself, but impressing the judges along the way.

For the semi-final she created two kinds of fondant fancy, one a cherry bakewell, one a chocolate praline, that Mary Berry described as “cracking” and in the final she added an extra tier to her pavlova in the shape of a crown.

Her mango curd-filled meringue creation was so delicious it earned her a coveted “Hollywood handshake” from Paul Hollywood.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for her though. She had a rocky start to the competition, serving up a less-than-perfect mirror glaze cake that brought her to tears in the first week and presenting raw bread during Bread Week, a moment she described as “mortifying”.

But Candice came back fighting and proved fond of a pun or two. Fans particularly enjoyed the moment when she asked Mel to “grab my jugs” as she presented the gingerbread pub to the judges.

She also offered some creative swearing, with viewers enjoying her expression “Oh Mother Hubbard”, exclaimed in a moment of frustration.

The 31-year-old, who was taught to bake by her grandmother, was born in London and often included tributes to her Cockney past in her creations.

She now lives in Bedfordshire with her boyfriend and pug Dennis and bulldog Harry and frequently shares pictures of her baking and her pets on social media.

Ahead of the final she told the Radio Times: “I would love to be able to bake all the time – but who knows what will happen?”