A WILTSHIRE farmer has become the fourth person to be eliminated from the current series of a popular TV show.

Farm manager Mike Wilkins was eliminated from The Great British Bake Off during the caramel-themed week.

Speaking about his departure in the episode of the series that aired on Tuesday, October 15, the 29-year-old said he was ‘going to miss everyone’ but found the competition ‘breathtaking’.

In a goodbye letter shared on GBBO’s active X account, he added: “I just hope that I haven’t let anyone down and that everyone has enjoyed watching a fraction as much as I have enjoyed being here.”

Commenting on being eliminated from the show, Mike said: “I feel it was my time to go.

“I am just this little farmer who does baking in the kitchen.

“I feel the quality of what everyone else is doing is just breathtaking.”

A fourth-generation farmer, Mike works both on the family farm Wilkins & Son and as a farm manager for CP Farming in Malmesbury.

He was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards.

He is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ farmers community - having been featured on the cover of Student Farmer magazine’s Farming with Pride edition - and was an ambassador for the National Farmers’ Union in 2022.

Mike also attended the Royal Agricultural University and was president of the RAU Students’ Union.

Despite disappointment at leaving the Bake Off tent, Mike said: “I have learned so much more about baking - techniques, skills, the science behind it - both from my practising and recipe development, and from my time in the tent itself.

“I have also learned so much more about what I am capable of and what I can achieve - I have really surprised myself.”

Mike, who is planning to bake his own wedding cake, said the next step in his baking career would be to open a farm shop and cafe selling his creations.

“We are pressing ahead with our plans for opening a farm shop and cafe on the farm,” he said.

“We’re planning to include an in-house bakery, so I am very excited to get on developing and perfecting ideas and recipes for all the sweet and savoury treats we want to serve.”

Mike will join Jo Brand and Tom Allen on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice tonight, Thursday, October 17, on Channel 4 at 8pm.