LONDON -- There were many memorable moments in Wednesday night's final of The Great British Bake Off, but there was one particular line -- an almost casual, throwaway line -- that caught everyone completely off guard.
The revelation came at the end of the show, during a "where they are now" style segment on what the contestants have been doing since the show was filmed.
There was talk of a blog from Stu.
And Sandy teaching baking classes.
Alvin's plans for a baking course got a mention.
And, then out of the blue, came finalist Ian Cumming's segment.
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Wait, what?
What do you mean he made a cake for the Dalai Lama, BBC? Let's go in a bit closer on that...
Yep, that is definitely Cumming, casually standing on stage next to one of the biggest religious figures in the world, quietly applauding while his holiness gestures towards a five-tiered birthday cake with a single red candle on top.
Needless to say, a few people were taken by surprise.
Also GBBO producers, you can't just throw the Ian/Dalai Lama cake in at the end with no explanation. HOW?! THAT'S INCREDIBLE #GBBOFinal— Beth Bason (@CowHeartGirl) October 7, 2015
AS IF IAN MADE A CAKE FOR THE DALAI LAMA IM CRYING— laura (@polarizse) October 7, 2015
THE DALAI LAMA IAN YOU CHEEKY BAKER— hazzlerdazzler (@HARRI4EVEREVER) October 7, 2015
'Ian's recently made an 80th birthday cake for the Dalai Lama.' WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE #GBBOFinal— Marianka Swain (@mkmswain) October 7, 2015
But hang on a minute, how exactly did this happen?
Well, the start of the trail lies in one specific line on Cumming's Twitter bio:
Ian may be best known for this baking skills, but he's also a travel photographer who, according to this piece in Cambridge News, is also the official UK photographer for the Dalai Lama. Yep.
Apparently Cumming met the Dalai Lama during a private photoshoot back in 1998 during a trip to the Himalayas. Since then, he's published books in conjunction with his holiness -- he's credited as the photographer for the Dalai Lama's book, A Simple Path, for example -- and eventually earned his position as official UK photographer.
"I never thought my cake and the Dalai Lama would be in the same scene together," Cumming said. "I'm not sure whether the Dalai Lama has ever watched The Bake Off."
We really, really hope he has.