Award-winning Pudsey-based cake artist Beccy Weston is to make her TV debut on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas on Channel 4 tomorrow night (Wednesday 27 November) at 5pm.
Beccy, who beat off thousands of applicants to win her place on the show, will compete with three other cake makers to be awarded ‘Best Christmas Cake’ with the winner announced on the show itself.
Beccy (31) set up her business, Cabbage Patch Bakery, just over 12 months ago and is completely self-taught.
She specialises in making extraordinary and healthier showstopper celebration, birthday and wedding cakes packed with vegetables where possible, as well as more traditional ingredients.
She said: “I applied for the competition on a whim, after someone in a networking social media group mentioned they were looking for competitors to make a Christmas Cake. I didn’t think for one minute I’d even be considered but I got the call and my mum insisted I pursue it!
“After discussions with producers, we came up with a design that we think viewers will really love and is a Christmassy spin on a cake I made for my very own wedding. I had so much fun creating the cake and me and the other cake makers had an absolute blast. It was very stressful on the day of filming the competition as I had a couple of things not go quite to plan – I’m so curious to see the final cut!”
Beccy, who lives in Pudsey with husband Richard, made her Christmas cake based on a design of her own wedding cake which she made and set up on the morning of her wedding in March, earlier this year. Show bosses spotted her wedding cake online and were very keen to have her recreate it for the show.
Over the past decade Kirstie Allsopp has featured over 500 festive makes on her Crafty Christmas shows. In this, the show’s tenth year, she has over 120 more, including many even she’s never seen before, and of course, some fresh takes on old favourites.
Across three weeks, a host of crafty contestants are going all out to be crowned winner of one of 15 craft competitions packed with inspiration, tips and fresh techniques.
To complete the carnival of Christmas cheer the programme will take a sneak peek into the workshops of some of the nation’s most creative makers and crafters.