'Great British Bake Off' Final Ratings: 13.4m Viewers See Nadiya's Win, Making It Most Watched TV Show Of 2015

'Bake Off' Final Becomes Most Watched Show Of 2015 With Record Ratings

'The Great British Bake Off' final, won by Nadiya Jamir Hussain, is the most watched television programme of the year.

According to overnight ratings, the peak at 8.55pm was watched by 14.5 million, beating last year's figure of 13.3 million.

Overall, an average of 13.4 million viewers tuned into the 2015 final, compared to 12.3 million in 2014. This year's final has also become the most watched non-sport programme on a Wednesday night since Christmas Day 2002.

The 'Great British Bake Off' scored its highest ever audience for Wednesday's final

BBC One's popular baking series has now replaced the May 30 final of ITV's 'Britain's Got Talent' as the most watched show of 2015. It has also pushed the live "who killed Lucy?" reveal episode of 'EastEnders' broadcast on February 19 into third place.

'Bake Off' champion Nadiya has her husband to thank for pushing her to apply for the show, when she believed she had no chance of making it on to television.

The stay-at-home mother walked out of the 'Bake Of'f tent "a much stronger, confident person" after being crowned winner of series six, beating Ian Cumming and Tamal Ray in an emotional final which had judge Mary Berry in tears.

The 30-year-old, who became loved for her expressive face, said it was "surreal" to finally be able to talk about her achievement after keeping her win on the BBC show a secret.

She told 'BBC Breakfast': "It feels like I'm reliving that moment again. It was one of the best moments of my life.

"My husband (Abdul) tried to get me to apply two years ago and I said, 'look, I don't have the confidence to do something like this', and this year he pretty much forced me and said, 'you're really good, you're really clever, you should just do it, what's the worst that will happen?'.

"Those were famous last words. And I did it, and I went in and I applied and every stage of the process felt unlikely and like it wasn't meant to happen.

"My confidence grew and then this happened."

Nadiya beat Tamal and Ian to win 'Bake Off'

The mother-of-three described how she "comes from a culture where there is no such concept of dessert after dinner" and she caught the bug for baking during home economics.

Born in Luton to a Bangladeshi family, Nadiya has been praised as a role model for young British Muslims after previously admitting she was nervous that audiences would "look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake".

The Muslim Association of Britain said of her win: "Her participating in The Great British Bake Off has demonstrated the connection that young British Muslims have with British society."

For her final challenge she created the wedding cake she missed out on at her own wedding in Bangladesh, which she decorated in a red, white and blue sari, the colours of the Union Jack.

Nadiya said: "I went into the tent as the smallest baker at 4ft 11in but I walked out feeling a giant - almost as tall as my fellow baker, six-footer Mat Riley."

Here are the top 10 programmes of 2015, based on overnight figures from Barb and excluding +1 timeshift:

1. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Oct 8: 13.4m

2. 'Britain's Got Talent', ITV, May 30: 11.4m

3. 'EastEnders', BBC1, Feb 19 (early evening episode): 10.8m

4. 'EastEnders', BBC1, Feb 19 (late evening episode): 10.3m

5. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Sep 30: 10.2m

6. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Aug 19: 10.1m

7. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Sep 16: 10.0m

= 'EastEnders', BBC1, Feb 20: 10.0m

9. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Sep 2: 9.8m

10. 'The Great British Bake Off', BBC1, Aug 26: 9.6m

Here are the top five programmes of 2014, based on overnight figures from Barb and excluding +1 timeshift

1. World Cup 2014: Uruguay v England, ITV, Jun 19: 13.2m

2. 'The Great British Bake Off' (final), BBC1, Oct 8: 12.3m

3. World Cup 2014: Germany v Argentina, BBC1, Jul 13: 12.1m

4. World Cup 2014: Brazil v Germany, BBC1, Jul 8: 11.5m

= World Cup 2014: England v Italy, BBC1, Jun 14: 11.5m

'The Great British Bake Off' will return to BBC One next year.

Edd Kimber (winner, 2010)

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