A Great British Bake Off winner has shared the joyful news of welcoming their first child. The star introduced their newborn daughter in a heartfelt Instagram post, thanking fans for their support.
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Great British Bake Off winner Rahul Mandal has revealed he and his wife have welcomed their first child. The star shared the happy news on Instagram, posting a photo of himself holding their newborn while posing alongside his wife.
Part of Rahul’s caption read: “If there is anything that can ever top the experience of holding @britishbakeoff trophy, this is it. Everyone, let me introduce you to our daughter, Debeshi Mandal, born on 10th December 2024. We are back from the hospital today. Please send your blessings to Debeshi.
He continued: “Now, to the reality of looking after a baby, that neither of us have much experience of. But we will keep trying to do our best, as we did during the pregnancy. Thousands of miles away from our family the past 9 months was a journey that brought us closer and made us stronger as a couple. Hopefully, we will be good parents, so please, any advice, suggestions, and support is welcome.
“We also had to do tonnes of laundry to sort out. Our washing machine decided to take a break and enjoy our parenthood with us. Hopefully, it will be sorted soon. Just wanted to thank the maternity team in Rotherham Hospital and the amazing team in Greenoaks for supporting us during this amazing journey.
“Have a great weekend from Rahul, Shreya, and Deveshi. P.S: Shreya wanted to add that she was exhausted after the birth. Hence, she looked tired in the photo.”
Friends and celebrity pals quickly flooded the comments to congratulate the star on his exciting news. Comedian Noel Fielding commented: “Congratulations! This is amazing, So much love to you both, can’t wait to meet baby Debeshi x.” Chef Romy Gill wrote: Heartfelt congratulations to you both! I’m so excited for you and I can’t wait to meet little Debeshi.
Rahul Mandal was crowned the winner of the Great British Bake Off 2018 in a rollercoaster final marked by controversy. The 30-year-old scientist rose to the challenge and defeated runner-up Kim-Joy and third-placed Ruby Bhogal. Rahul’s victory divided Bake Off fans, with some praising him for overcoming adversity, while others claimed the result was ‘fixed’ because of weeks of bad bakes.
The explosive final showstopper challenge was rocked by an unprecedented decision as Rahul was given 15 minutes extra time to finish his creation after disaster struck. A storage jar exploded, apparently due to the extreme heat in the bakers’ tent as temperatures soared to 32 degrees, causing glass to fly all over Rahul’s workbench and into his cake mixture.
As he fretted and admitted he was falling behind and would never finish the challenge, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith then decided to give him an extra quarter of an hour. The concerned crew rushed in to clear the area of broken glass shards to ensure none were eaten. Despite the drama, Rahul regained his composure to create an incredible showstopper, an edible rock garden with almost 200 different components.
He was arguably falling behind the other two finalists Ruby Bhogal and Kim-Joy in terms of what they had produced in the first two challenges the final – making iced doughnuts and then pitta bread on an open fire – but he triumphed thanks to his final bake of the series.
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