Good evening, and welcome to the Great British Bake Off GRAND FINAL liveblog! Alas all good things must come to an end, and I think it’s safe to say the BBC has exhausted ALL the smutty baking puns and needs time to regroup.  From the thousands of amateur bakers who applied, only 12 made it into the Bake Off tent. One by one they’ve all left, with some departures more memorable than others (Iain, I’m looking at you). Tonight our final three bakers will need to pull off something fabulous to take the Bake Off 2014 title, which earns them ten minutes on The One Show, a book deal hastily thrown together in time for Christmas, and a lifetime aversion to pastry.  So here are my thoughts on the final three. Luis is Mr. Precision – he’s got a ruler and a spreadsheet for every bake, and he’s not afraid to use them. He’s also king of showstopping presentation, which could give him the edge this evening, or send him over the edge into an abyss of glitter and lurid fondant. Meanwhile Nancy is a consistent and experienced baker with a complete disregard for Paul’s rules, for which I adore her. Head-down determination and superior knowledge could easily give her the win tonight. And finally, Richard the builder has an extraordinary talent and flair for baking, is entirely unflappable AND has a magic pencil. He’s also been Star Baker five times out of nine shows, so on paper should take the win.  But they’re all brilliant, and I don’t really mind who wins, because they’re also all really lovely. How nice is that?  I’ll be here at 8pm for the very last time this year (sob), to capture the final bakes for internet posterity. Do join in with your wit and wisdom in the comment box below, particularly if you’ve been lurking all series and haven’t yet joined in. The natives are friendly, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on the remaining bakers, Mary’s fashion choices and the correct pronunciation of “baklava”.  In the meantime, here’s some excellent work from Stu Heritage, where he’s ranked every Bake Off contestant ever in order of greatness, as well as a poll where you can vote for who you want to win. Currently Richard is storming ahead with 59% of the vote, followed by Luis on 24% and Nancy on 16%. I wonder where the final 1% is? People hoping that Stormin’ Norman might return in a blaze of glory?
It was the week we’ve all been waiting for. Nancy, Richard and Luis went spoon to spoon on fiendish challenges and a killer showstopper combining sponge, caramel, choux and petit four. Heidi Stephens followed the action