9 reasons why we already think Flo should win the Great British Bake Off

She's got winner iced all over her...

Not sure if you heard (there have been a few mentions of it), but The Great British Bake Off is back. And if you tuned into the first episode then we have a sneaking feeling that you might just agree with us on this one, Flo is our favourite to win.

It took us all of about 0.5 seconds to fall in love with the adorable Scouser, and we couldn't help but get attached to her more and more as the 75 minutes went on.

The contestant from Merseyside started strong with a beautiful signature challenge and continued to come up towards the top of talent (in our humble opinion) throughout the technical and the showstopper, making her not only our favourite for her cheeky charm but also for her pure baking prowess.

Here are nine reasons Flo is already a winner in our eyes…

She's a record-breaker

That's right, our girl Flo is not only an unbelievable baker, at 71 she's also the oldest ever contestant to take part on Bake Off, proving that age is but a number. If anything, we think those years of life smarts are going to set her up to be able to take all sorts of situations in her stride without so much as breaking (or should we say baking) a sweat.

She isn't afraid to sass the judges and presenters

Sometimes it's important to put the presenters back in their place, and Flo's the girl for the job. During the first episode she wasn't afraid to have a bit of baking banter. At one point new judge Noel Fielding tries to wind her up by asking her how she's finding it, and instead of giving a plain old answer we've heard hundreds of time's before Flo quickly turns it back on him asking how he's enjoying his new job, with an undertone of 'leave me in peace to bake, Noel'. We're into it.

She makes BIG bakes

If there's one thing we love more than cake, it's oversized cake. Frankly, there's nothing quite as disturbing as thinking there may not be enough treats to go round, but if Flo's on the job you're going to be fine. The Liverpudlian whipped up a casual three tier towering bake for her first signature challenge filled with layers of buttercream and topped with all sorts of goodness. We'll take two slices, please.

She's a fighter

After sadly losing her husband Richard two years ago, Flo helped to combat her grief by getting into a new hobby. Baking has been keeping her busy ever since and we can't help but think Richard would be bursting with pride seeing his girl smashing Bake Off like a boss.

She likes karaoke

And, hello, that's the ultimate good-time-girl-trait. Apparently this grandma hasn't hung up her dancing shoes just yet and loves a little singsong with the gals in her free time. Honestly, Flo, if you ever need people to out with, we're only at the other end of the line.

She's a career woman

As a retiree you might think Flo would put her feet up, but not her. After finishing working at a sausage factory (which, side note, is where she met her husband) where she had toiled most of her days Flo picked the baton back up and began to bake for her son's restaurant, the spoils of which he affectionately calls Flo's Pantry.

She appreciates a classic

There's no molecular gastronomy bull***t with Flo, she's a straightforward kind of girl, knowing that classic bakes are classics for a reason. That means you'll be seeing tried and tested flavour combos like lemon, chocolate and vanilla from her if her first round of bakes are anything to go by.

She's too busy for technology

We like to think she's spearheading the digital detox movement, but we're not actually sure she ever was intoxicated in the first place. During the first episode of Bake Off 2017 Flo revealed that she had to get her daughter to help her print out the recipe for her signature bake as she couldn't work it out. And if that wasn't sweet enough her daughter added good luck messages at the bottom to her mum.

She's an absolute joker

As we already know Flo isn't afraid of a bit of sass, but she's also full of jokes. The 71-year-old pulled out a fabulous pun in the first episode and called her showstopper 'one in a melon'. The watermelon shaped illusion cake was inspired by her husband's love of a melon cocktail on one of their holidays, which just makes us love it even more.

So, there you have it. Those are the reasons we love Flo, and we're sure we've not even discovered all of them yet, with weeks left of the show to go. Let us know in the comments below if you know a Flo fact that we should add in!

Rosie Conroy
Food Writer

Rosie is an experienced food and drinks journalist who has spent over a decade writing about restaurants, cookery, and foodie products. Previously Content Editor at Goodto.com and Digital Food Editor on Woman&Home, Rosie is well used to covering everything from food news through to taste tests. Now, as well as heading up the team at SquareMeal - the UK's leading guide to restaurants and bars - she also runs a wedding floristry business in Scotland called Lavender and Rose.