Olivia Colman was crowned the winner of Christmas Bake Off's Peep Show special - as another star of the show made a surprise appearance.

The Oscar-winning actress, 51, who played Sophie in the beloved sitcom, bested four of her former castmates in the tent.

This included series star David Mitchell (Mark), Matt King (Super Hans), Isy Suttie (Dobby) and Sophie Winkleman (Big Suze).

They aimed to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, while regular presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond fronted the Channel 4 special.

Writing online, fans shared their delight at Olivia's involvement, with posts including ''Olivia Colman on celebrity bake off might have saved Chrismas tv;'

'Olivia Colman on Bake Off is a perfect appearance.'

Olivia Colman on bake off is all I ever wanted;'

'Olivia Colman deserves 17 more Oscars for recreating this scene of herself from Peep Show on Celebrity Great British Bake Off.'

Despite this enthusiasm, other viewers were disappointed that fan favourites Robert Webb (Jez) and Paterson Joseph (Johnson) weren't taking part.

They said: 'I'm a big fan of Peep show bake off but no Johnson or Jez?????'

'Still can't understand how they've done a Christmas Bake Off Peep Show special without Jez;'

However, Robert Webb, who played Jez, did ultimately make a surprise appearance - in a video, sending Christmas wishes.

Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain's Peep Show ran from 2003 to 2015 with 54 episodes across nine series.

It focused on the lives of Mark Corrigan and Jeremy Usborne, played by double act David and Robert respectively, in their flat in London.

Mark owns the flat and frequently references Jeremy's resistance to paying rent and his abuse of the home, thanks to his love of weed and reluctance to work. 

After her time on Peep Show, Olivia notably starred in ITV police drama Broadchurch and later won an Academy Award for her role in The Favourite. 

This year, David and Robert launched a new show called Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping.

It's their first new sketch show in 15 years and was previously announced by Channel 4 at the start of the year.

Previously speaking about their new show together, the pair said: 'When Channel 4 asked us to do another sketch show we were startled, bemused and available.

'It's a perilous time for the industry, and so it's our hope that relaunching the trickiest genre of comedy is a brilliant piece of counterintuitive commissioning.

'And we're confident that, unlike Roger Moore with his shoe on the bonnet of a car teetering on the edge of a cliff in For Your Eyes Only, we're not about to give British TV comedy a final lethal nudge into the abyss.'