Tebay's Abbi Lawson stunned the Great British Bake Off judges last night with her "pretty well perfect" custard creams.

Channel Four introduced her as "A lover of the great outdoors, she forages for seasonal ingredients – the bigger and bolder, the better – and puts her homegrown veg to good use."

Yet it seems Abbi's passion for growing vegetables - said to derive from her love of the Cumbrian countryside - is far from the single string in her bow.

Abbi used her Tunisian (and Cumbrian) upbringing as inspiration for her mouthwatering marshmallow biscuits and came up top in the technical challenge for her aforementioned custard creams.

What else did Abbi rustle up?

Her teacakes, containing flavours of Tunisia, drew compliments from the judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, who said they were "messy but exciting and attractive".

In the showstopper section of the hit Channel 4 show, which draws viewing audiences of millions, bakers were asked to create a biscuit display depicting their favourite meal.

Abbi opted to create a dim sum feast complete with steamer baskets and fortune cookies, reflecting her love of Chinese food.

Judge Paul Hollywood said she had done a decent job of creating the biscuit illusion and complimented her flavours.

This year includes a first for Bake Off, as Tasha from Bristol, 27, makes history as the show's first deaf contestant.

She'll compete against the 11 other bakers in this year's line-up, who hail from all across the UK and range from ages 21 to 60.

Episodes air at 8pm every Tuesday on Channel 4.