Alison Hammond outshines iconic Great British Bake Off contestants as fans gush over ‘perfect’ presenter on Christmas special

The Great Christmas Bake Off crowned the 2023 winner on Sunday, with Sophie Faldo triumphing for the second time.

But while Sophie may have been the star baker, Alison Hammond was the highlight of the show, with viewers flocking to X, formerly Twitter, to share their love for her.

Alison took on the role of co-host alongside Noel Fielding this year after Matt Lucas left the show.

And viewers raved about her antics in the Christmas special, writing: 'Alison Hammond is one of the best things to happen to #bakeoff in years. She is such a breath of fresh air'; 'Alison shines so much more here than the main series #GBBO'.

'Alison Hammond is perfect for this show'; 'I love Alison Hammond so much #GBBO'; 'This is the best Alison Hammond has looked this year. I can make this judgment with the full confidence of someone who has seen her entire 2023 wardrobe. Because she's on absolutely everything, on every channel, every day. #GBBO' 'Alison's “you look? There are some nice cameramen here” made me'.

During the Christmas special Sophie – the series eight champion – returned for another shot at the title, beating Dan Beasley-Harling, Amelia Le Bruin, Linda Rayfield, George Aristidou and Carole Edwards to victory.

She won over judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with her festive bakes after they were given three challenges.

For the first round, the bakers had to create 12 mince pies with their own special twist. Then the technician saw that they had to bake a cinnamon loaf.

The last Showstopper saw them build a giant cake.

Speaking about her win, Sophie shared: 'Yes, I'm so excited. What a beautiful way to start Christmas. I'm going to take this [the decorative plate] go home and enjoy a piece of mince pie.'

Prue added: “Sophie was brave to come back because she had a lot to lose. That was five years ago, but she has obviously grown since then.

“She is organized and thorough. When she does something, my God, she does it well.”

While everyone seemed happy for Sophie with her win, undoubtedly no one felt better about it than Prue, who had a chance at redemption after ruining Sophie's first win.

While the winner of the Bake Off is always a closely guarded secret, in one catastrophic tweet, Prue accidentally revealed that Sophie had won the 2017 series, hours before it last aired – causing inevitable devastation among the show's loyal fans .

Sophie was the first to win Bake Off in her new home on Channel 4, but her big moment was overshadowed by the unfortunate blunder.

Prue, who was in Bhutan at the time, blamed the time difference on her social media failure, tweeting: 'No one told me judging a Bake Off final would be so emotional. I wanted them all to win. Bravo Sophie.'

The tweet was quickly deleted and Prue apologized, writing: 'I'm in Bhutan. The time difference is enormous. I thought they got it six hours ago. I'm too confused to talk about it. Damn me.”

Prue's blunder sent Bake Off fans into a frenzy, with many responding by sharing comical memes inspired by the judge's astronomically ill-advised tweet.

Many of the jokes featured Mary Berry, who was Paul Hollywood's co-judge on the much-loved show when it was on the BBC.

When she stepped down following the announcement that the show was moving to a new home on Channel 4, Prue was selected as her replacement – and fans were quick to joke that Mary might be able to take some satisfaction from the mistake.

The Great British Bake Off returns for a New Year's special on January 1, with returning stars Maxy Maligisa, Jürgen Krauss, Maggie Richardson and Mark Lutton returning to the tent.