SHE has twice battled cancer while bringing up four children with husband Mark and running the family home in Medstead – and now Jane Devonshire has been crowned MasterChef 2016 after winning a nail-biting final on Friday night.

Jane is the 12th amateur cook to lift the trophy and it was, she said, “one of the best, euphoric moments”.

“I am so happy. My dad always says you don’t get something for nothing and you’ve got to work hard for it. I did that and I’m standing here now as the winner,” she said.

“For me as a personal achievement it’s definitely up there as the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.”

Jane’s win, which has prompted her to have a career in food, came after an incredible seven weeks of seriously intense challenges and an extraordinary final cook-off she shared with beaten finalists Billy Wright and Jack Layer.

Fifty-year-old Jane was awarded her title of MasterChef Champion 2016 by judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace and there was a tense moment as they took a long pause before announcing the winner.

It was a nod to the cool, competent way Jane has handled every cooking challenge to become a favourite with television viewers.

Both judges seemed delighted she had won and Mr Torode said: “Jane has more determination, more drive, more heart than I’ve ever seen in a MasterChef contestant in my whole career. She’s not scared of any ingredients, of any techniques, and she’s definitely not scared of any challenges we’ve thrown at her.”

“She fought through the competition and today made us three extraordinary courses – today there is one MasterChef champion and one very, very well-deserved MasterChef champion,” he added on the night.

Mr Wallace added: “Jane has had one of the most incredible journeys on MasterChef that I’ve witnessed. She obviously decided that she wanted to push her food onto the next level, and when she made that decision there’s been no stopping her. She’s made herself into the most amazing cook, one of the best champions I’ve ever seen.”

Jane battled her way from 40 resolute contestants through to the last three and alongside other incredible amateur cooks had to demonstrate her inspiration, skill and utter determination as the finalists undertook serious and potentially life-changing challenges.

Over the past week viewers have seen Jane cook a celebratory dinner for Britain’s leading actresses at Bristol’s Old Vic under rising British star and chef Michael O’Hare, travel to Mexico and face three extraordinary challenges guided by acclaimed chef Enrique Olvera, and in the penultimate show cook for the Chef’s Table, which was this year presided over by one of the world’s most influential culinary talents, Daniel Humm.

The final task, on Friday night, was to prepare a three-course meal for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Jane’s winning menu, based on her childhood memories – she was born in London – consisted of a starter (based on her childhood Sunday tea) of winkles and parsley on toast served with pan-fried cockles and mussels, langoustine tempura, deep-fried caper berry, and a saffron mayonnaise.

Her main course was an Indian-inspired Sunday roast, including braised shoulder of lamb marinated in yoghurt, cumin and garam masala, with cannon of lamb cooked in a red chilli, garlic and kaffir lime leaf puree, shallot bhajis, roasted cauliflower, pan-fried shallot, onion puree, deep-fried kaffir lime leaves and a lamb and masala gravy.

To finish, Jane’s dessert was rhubarb and custard – a vanilla panna cotta flavoured with rosemary, served with honeycomb, roasted rhubarb, a rhubarb and ginger granite, and a burnt orange and lemon caramel.

On the inspiration for entering the competition, Jane said: “My youngest (child), Ben, had been pestering me for a couple of years to enter and on a whim last year we filled in the form together.

“I really wanted to just immerse myself in the whole food process and do something just for me where I could concentrate on something I loved. It’s been an amazing experience, one that just takes you out of your comfort zone and shakes you up. I wouldn’t have swapped it for the world.”

“On a personal front, I wanted to prove to myself how far I’ve come. I am determined not to be defined by things that have happened to me in the past and instead proud of what I can achieve now and in the future,” she added.

Despite the diversity and intensity of the later stages of the competition, Jane said challenges in knockout week were her biggest.

“I had a major wobble with my trout dish for the family favourites challenge, and the invention test I cooked for Marcus Wareing during knockout week. From that moment I made a definite decision to cook true to myself and take the leap of faith in my own abilities,” she said.

Married to Mark and a full-time housewife, Jane’s passion for cooking started when she young and was central to her upbringing.

“I come from a family of cooks,” she said. “My nanny Pearce was a wonderful cook who baked beautiful cakes and dishes. My mum is a fabulous cook of really good traditional food and my dad, who has always worked in food sales, would go to the markets and bring home different and interesting foods. My brother Colin and I share a great passion for food.

“Food is an absolutely solid and integral part of my family life, both growing up and now. It represents so much more for me than just food, it’s family and friends – the best times are always when good food, family and friends surround you.”

“My main areas of passion are in starters and mains across all cultures. I love to take influences and put them into everyday dishes that I can make at home to make day-to-day dishes more interesting.”

Jane continued: “Ben was diagnosed with coeliac disease when he was two years old – her other children are Sam, 23, Rebecca, 21, and Harry, 17 – so most of the food we eat at home is gluten free and no-one really notices.

“It has become such a way of life and integral to how I cook that I have had to re-educate myself with desserts to use wheat-based products on the show.

“It is really important to me that gluten free does not have to be about expensive processed foods but can easily be just part of everyday life.”

Jane revealed in the final episode that she has spent the last 10 years fighting cancer and has been in remission for the last three years.

In 2007 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and after treatment was in remission for five years until the devastating news, four years ago, the cancer had returned, this time in the form of a liver tumour.

A long and difficult operation and recovery followed. More than 50 per cent of Jane’s liver was removed, but the ongoing emotional impact also took its toll, with regular tests and results cycles to be faced every three months.

She said: “There was a time when I thought I wouldn’t be here. It’s been incredibly tough, a really horrible time, a very scary time. You’ve got to get through these things, and with my children there’s no way I was going to give up. You have to try to survive and I’m one of the lucky ones.”

Last year Jane and fellow cancer sufferer Penny Pate held a number of fundraising events for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Sarcoma UK, culminating in a Mad Hatter’s Ball.

Jane is now planning her future in food. She said: “I love food, learning about food and educating other people about food. Just teaching the kids that great food does not always have to be about fat and fast food is a real joy.

“Before MasterChef I hadn’t considered working in the food industry but now my mind is open to all sorts of possibilities and I can’t wait to see what comes along.

“For me this means the end of a very, very difficult time and an amazing start to something new. I cant wait to see what it’s going to bring me.”