'Alopecia changed my perception of beauty' says Bake Off winner

Jasmine Mitchell was crowned Great British Bake Off winner

The winner of this year's Great British Bake Off has said living with alopecia has "changed her perception of beauty".

Jasmine Mitchell, from Edinburgh, was crowned winner of the Channel 4 baking competition on Tuesday's show.

The 23-year-old spoke about the condition, which she has lived with since the age of 12 and her decision to live her life without wearing a wig, while on TV.

She took the series 16 title after seeing off her fellow finalists, Tom Arden and Aaron Mountford-Myles.

Jasmine first wore a wig after her hair gradually started to fall out in her early teens.

Her hair grew back and then fell out again and until three years ago she wouldn't leave the house without a wig.

She said: "If I had told myself three years ago that I would be going about my life without wearing a wig, with no hair, I would have laughed and said, 'don't be ridiculous'. I could never have imagined being on the Bake Off, let alone doing it with no hair."

Jasmine said she was now embracing life without a wig, but admits she is still in the process of learning to love it.

According to Alopecia UK, there are many different types of the condition and various medical reasons for hair loss.

One condition is known as alopecia areata which is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks the hair follicles - causing the hair to fall out.

"I am getting to the point where more days than not I am actually really enjoying looking a bit different.

"Having alopecia has, and is, changing my perception of what beauty is. Being authentically yourself, the way you were made to be, is so much more beautiful than trying to look like everyone else around you."

Jasmine said she is learning to love life without a wig

Her new outlook led Jasmine to become one of the most successful contestants to ever appear on the show.

Over the course of the series, Jasmine received two coveted handshakes from presenter and master baker Paul Hollywood and became only the second in Bake Off history to score five Star Baker wins.

The 23-year-old, who now lives in London while studying medicine, said her love of Scotland and the Highlands inspired a lot of her bakes.

She said: "I hope that in winning Bake Off I have made my friends, family and Scotland proud. I miss being in Scotland a lot, I grew up in Edinburgh and it's a big part of my heritage."

The final on Tuesday night saw Jasmine and her fellow finalists faced with the challenge of making a classic British iced finger bun before baking a tower of French delights in the technical.

The three were then tasked with making the largest cake in Bake Off history - with Jasmine creating what she described as a "ridiculously long cake" at 1.2m in just four hours and 30 minutes.

After an intense few months filming the show, and sitting medical exams. Jasmine told BBC Radio Scotland she hasn't baked since, adding she baked enough in those 10 weeks to last her a lifetime.