Who is Karen Wright? Meet the Great British Bake Off 2018 contestant
The 60-year-old hails from Yorkshire and counts her years living in France as her main baking inspiration
Karen Wright is one of the 12 contestants putting their cooking skills to the test in The Great British Bake Off tent in 2018.
The 60-year-old in-store sampling assistant from West Yorkshire cites the 15 years she spent living in France with her husband as the start of her love affair with all things baking.
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Now, Karen's creations rival even those of a French patisserie, baking sumptuous profiteroles, Religieuse buns, tartes au citron, and even foot-long eclairs.
Although Karen says she used to limit her baking due to her dieting, she loves cooking for her husband and for big family gatherings.
"My daughters encouraged me to [enter Bake Off], and I was approaching 60 and I found it really liberating to do something like this," Karen said. "As you get older you feel less inhibited, and think does it matter if you make a fool of yourself.
"I have always wanted to be even more flamboyant and free, I really wanted to do this for me and I thought it was the right time to step up and take on some challenges and have some fun," she added.
"I think my mam who is 84 years young will be the most surprised [that I'm competing in the tent], she will love it. I am very proud of my mam and look forward to telling her all about it," Karen said.
If she were to invent a crisp flavour on GBBO, she says it would be her "favourite" flavour, "Rogan Josh" (a type of curry), and when it comes to baking an illusion cake, she would make "a kind of This is Your Life, the big red book cake, with a photograph on the front of the recipient with lots of calligraphy and embossing, reason being it is a very personal cake to give to someone and very bold".
Karen's Bake Off journey
Sadly, Karen's Bake Off journey came to an end in Spice Week, and in a double elimination she and Terry and left the tent. It was emotional!
Karen was cool as a cucumber during Biscuit Week in the Bake Off tent, even whipping out a packed of crisps after finishing her signature bakes early. One week down, nine to go? No sweat...
Karen Wright: Key facts
Age: 60
From: West Yorkshire
Job: In-store sampling assistant
Instagram: @karenwrightbake
Twitter: @karenwrightbake
The Great British Bake Off airs Tuesdays on Channel 4 at 8pm
