A biography for John Whaitehasn’t been written yet.
“I chose to work with Stork's Sunday Bake Service as it's a great way to help people out - whether they're baking experts or baking novices, the service assists people with the same passion as me, so I couldn't refuse!”
“As a child my life was shrouded by fear. Every night I would crawl into the alcove outside my sisters' bedrooms and sleep on the floor, just to feel as though I wasn't alone.”
“At school I used to hang out with the girls - they looked after me but the boys would call me gay and I'd get into fights. They'd push me and I'd push them back. I don't condone violence, but you have to stick up for yourself because no one else will.”
“I like pie! Pie with proper pastry and a meaty filling always works. It just makes you feel good.”
“I am so excited to be 'Strictly-fied.'”
“The key emotion, when you grow up gay, lesbian, bi, trans, is shame. We chose what places we went to, chose the people we talked to, based on the idea of keeping ourselves safe.”
“I like the style of the deVOL kitchens - shaker style with dark greys and blues, ceramic tiles and metallics dotted around.”
“Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without family.”
“I started baking with my family and friends. We would make easy and competent dishes and spend our evenings and weekends together in the kitchen. It was quite argumentative and ferocious - it was family life. That instilled the love and comfort of food for me.”
“How could anyone not use the humble chestnut at Christmas? It has a great flavour and can be used to make chocolate cake more festive.”
“The Great British Bake Off' has rapidly evolved into one of the nation's favourite TV shows.”
“When we revel in hindsight, we have a tendency to embellish. We weave romantic and poetic fibres into the gaps in our memory.”
“Addiction to the razzle dazzle came naturally to the youthful me.”
“Caring for animals is immensely grounding. Who you are and what you may have means nothing to them. The only way to their hearts is through responsibility, routine and love.”
“When you're panicking you make rash decisions.”
“During 'Bake Off' people said, 'You're going to become a celebrity and leave your boyfriend,' but I knew it would never happen.”
“If I'm going through a particular period at work or where I feel that I'm out of control and everything's sort of spiralling, I've noticed that that's when the bulimia will kick in. It's a coping mechanism. It's a kind of strategy of staying in control. So it's just about recognising those triggers and you know, taking a step back.”
“Baking helps lift my depression. It can't cure it but it helps.”
“My career could go up in smoke and as long as I've got my health and my family then nothing else matters.”
“My body image as I grew up was very difficult... I was so conscious of being fat. But one thing I was aware of as being problematic for 12, 14 years was overeating and then purging.”