Get ready.... set... it's time to meet the bakers!
Ahead of the return ofThe Great British Bake Off for its 15th series as once again, Channel 4 has released a first look at this year's bakers.
When the series returns on Tuesday 24th September, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding will be back to guide the latest batch of bakers through 30 brand-new challenges set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith who also return.
This year's series kicks off with Cake Week, giving the new bakers their first opportunity to impress Paul and Prue. In the Signature challenge, the bakers must elevate a loaf cake to new heights. Next under the fabled gingham cloth are the ingredients for the first Technical challenge, but with a twist.
And in the Showstopper challenge, the bakers must confuse and bamboozle the judges by creating the perfect hyper-realistic illusion cake. Whose cake fakery will earn them the first Star Baker award? And who'll be the first to leave the tent?
It's time to meet this year's bakers...
Andy
44, Essex, Car Mechanic
"My strengths I’d say are probably making Bread and also Meat pies. My weakness is definitely eating too much bread and pies!"
Family lies not only at the centre of Andy’s world, but also of his baking. As a child, baking alongside his mum, Andy first learned the much-loved family staples: apple crumble to follow a Sunday roast and Bakewell tarts made using pastry offcuts (to make sure nothing went to waste) among them.
Now, he bakes for his partner, Nickie, and hopes to inspire his daughter, Maisie, to follow in his baking footsteps – always with the aim of making his adored mum proud! When he’s not in the kitchen, Andy is incredibly active.
He plays football, goes to the gym and loves a long walk with Nickie, Maisie and their miniature Schnauzer, Arthur, as well as exploring the far corners of the country in their motor home.
Christiaan
33, London, Menswear Designer
"As a baker, one of my strengths is to not be afraid to try out new things, taking risks which may pay off or they may not. I also think my background in fashion can play to my strengths, when thinking about design/details/colours/etc."
Born in Emmen, a small town in The Netherlands, close to the border with Germany, Christiaan studied fashion in Amsterdam and then moved to the UK seven years ago, arriving in London to work for a leading fashion brand.
He is passionate about visiting modern art galleries and stately homes. He loves nurturing his veg patch and dancing away in his kitchen to his favourite pop tunes! His eye for fashion and design is definitely something he brings to his bakes, which are meticulously detailed and beautiful, as well as his love of gardening – floral scents and citrus notes are among his favourite flavours.
Bread is where he finds comfort – reminding him of the age-shaped bakes his mum would make for him and his siblings on their birthdays.
Dylan
20, Buckinghamshire, Retail Assistant
"Everyone behind the camera was super cool, and I got to know them all very quickly so it always just felt like hanging out with friends."
Curiosity for culture runs through Dylan’s veins and he loves to travel. He recently took a gap year travelling through Southeast Asia, exploring the food and meeting new people at every stop. He is an avid skateboarder and has a fascination for the way that ’90s PCs and vintage cars were built.
With influence from his artistic mum, he has always loved to paint and will paint Japanese-inspired characters and cartoons on his t-shirts. Super-proud of his fusion roots – his mother is Indian and his father Japanese–Belgian – Dylan loves experimenting with sweet and spice in his baking.
His presentation style is influenced by the beautiful Japanese bakes he tried on his travels and through following the work of French pâtissérie chefs on social media.
Georgie
34, Carmarthenshire, Paediatric Nurse
"I have had many different influences in the kitchen from a young age so I have played with lots of various techniques. As a mother I never have much time so I always try to (have to) be able to pack as much flavour into my baking and cooking, in little time."
Georgie’s love of food, and particularly of baking, is firmly embedded in her Italian roots and in the days she spent cooking with her Nonna Rosa.
Georgie is a nature-loving forager, who takes inspiration from the food growing in the fields and hedgerows around her, as well as the abundance in her garden and the discoveries she has made on her travels. She is a self-proclaimed cannoli connoisseur!
Along with a husband and three children at home in their Welsh farmhouse, Georgie has ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat. She has an impressive collection of crockery and tableware (to the point of obsession) and loves to sing in her kitchen – musicals, and especially The Phantom of the Opera, are a favourite.
Gill
53, Lancashire, Senior Category Manager
"I never thought I would be here, many people over many years told me to apply but my sister finally bullied me into it!"
Gill is convinced that her love of precision data and her inherent creativity are the perfect match for successful baking. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t bake – growing up, baking was very much a family activity.
Since her father passed away in 2015, Gill has used baking as a source of comfort and has put her skills to good use, raising money for Alzheimer’s charities in his memory. Pies, cakes and pastry, including her dad’s signature lemon meringue pie, were staples of her childhood, so her baking is very much traditional in style with a modern twist.
Her sticky toffee Christmas pudding has been a hit at family celebrations for the past five years! Gill’s claim to fame? In 1993 she was the UK’s youngest ever driving instructor, aged 21.
Hazel
71, Kent, Former Nail Technician
"The funniest moment was when Alison came up to me and asked what had happened to my jam, and I told her I had burnt it. Alison tried rescuing it by adding hot water then shouted out that she had saved my jam for me!"
Married to her childhood sweetheart for 51 years, Hazel has four children, one of whom still lives at home while the other three, and her ten grandchildren, all live close by. She loves nothing more than to gather everyone together for dinners and parties, and especially loves their get-togethers at Christmas.
Ask Hazel to make you a birthday cake and it may well come with working parts – she has made several ‘car’ cakes with remote-controlled wheels and working lights. Her granddaughter’s seventh birthday cake was a carousel with 500 edible diamonds that took Hazel two weeks to make!
When she’s not baking or entertaining her family, Hazel will be exercising her competitive streak, playing bingo.
Illiyin
31, Norfolk, Birth Trauma Specialist Midwife
"My strengths are definitely flavour and my weaknesses are finesse! I always rush and so often don’t have time to neatly finish in the way I want to."
Born in London as one of eight siblings, Illiyin grew up in Norfolk in a busy household in which she helped her mum to bake, soon becoming the go-to family member for birthday cakes. Living in a community of myriad cultures and nationalities, Illiyin is inspired by the ingredients and flavours of many different cuisines.
For example, she loves using Middle Eastern ingredients, such as dried fruits, nuts, honey, rose and mint, in her cakes; while her savoury bakes are typically inspired by the flavours of the Caribbean.
A qualified midwife and published author, Illiyin now freelances to help women as they embark on their parenthood journey. She lives with her sister and nieces, and her Spanish husband and their two young children.
Jeff
67, West Yorkshire, Former University Lecturer
"My strengths are my flavours. I like making a red chocolate velvet cake with a raspberry goo which is denser than jam."
Originally from the Bronx, in New York, Jeff arrived in the UK in 1979, when he emigrated with his English girlfriend (now wife), whom he’d met while she was hitchhiking her way across America and he was a sports coach for a summer camp. They have lived in Yorkshire since 1987.
A keen and competitive sportsman, Jeff has now hung up his basketball boots, but still loves swimming, going to the gym and long countryside walks. He began baking in earnest when his children were little, having learned the basics from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother when he himself was a child.
As you might hope (and perhaps even expect), he makes a mean New York Cheesecake.
John
37, West Midlands, Directorate Support Manager
"Alison and I are both from the good old West Midlands so we instantly have that local connection and accent so we get on a storm - bab!"
Born and bred in the West Midlands, John has been a hairdresser and an estate agent, but he found his calling working in the NHS, keeping schedules and theatre bookings running like clockwork. His job keeps him busy, so after work his favourite pastime is to relax at home with his cavapoo, Stanley.
Over weekends, you can find John and Stanley hitting the countryside for long walks. John learned to bake with his nan, making fairy cakes and pies, and now bakes to honour his nan’s memory and pass on the skills she taught him to his two young nephews.
He loves classic bakes with a twist – using herbs and other flavourings to give his bakes something different. His favourite bake, though, is a classic lemon tart.
Mike
29, Wiltshire, Farm Manager
"I am most likely to be baking after midnight - my friends always make fun of my midnight baking sessions, but they enjoy the fruits of my labour nonetheless."
Shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards, and considered a friend to all, Mike is a fourth-generation farmer, working on his family farm alongside his parents and sister. He is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within farming and was an ambassador for the National Farmers Union in 2022.
Amazingly, Mike is growing all the flowers for his upcoming wedding to partner Matt. Mike’s baking style is homely and wholesome. He likes making big, hearty bakes using high-quality local ingredients that can satisfy lots of people at parties and gatherings.
He especially loves using seasonal fruits and edible flowers from his garden and farm – and is even making his own wedding cake.
Nelly
44, Dorset, Palliative Care Assistant
"If a cake goes wrong I will improvise and always fix it somehow. Buttercream is a great invention!"
Alongside her busy job in night-time palliative care, Nelly is a devoted mum to two young boys, who, with her husband Farhan, are the biggest fans of her bakes. Nelly grew up with her dad in Slovakia, then moved to Austria to study nursing. Her dad loved to bake bread, but wasn’t keen on sweet baking, so it was only as an adult, after she had attempted a neighbour’s gingerbread recipe, that Nelly extended her skills.
Completely self-taught, Nelly loves adding the flavours of Slovakian cuisine into her bakes, as well as spices representing her husband’s Pakistani heritage – apple and cinnamon are among her favourite ingredients.
Nelly indulges her creative talents making jewellery, and is a big fan of true crime.
Sumayah
19, Lancashire, Dentistry Student
"My strength lies in decoration and detail, my weak spot is just bread baking in general."
Presently on her gap year, Sumayah is indulging her sweet tooth before going onto study Dentistry. She lives in Lancashire with her parents and siblings and not only aced her sciences, but is incredibly creative, too – she is a keen sewer, making her own clothes, and has recently taken up photography.
An entirely self-taught baker, Sumayah meticulously researches her creations, combining myriad techniques and recipes to create an eclectic and imaginative fusion of cultures and flavours.
The project that confirmed her love for baking was a macaron tower she made for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration – the result stood 1 metre tall, included 240 macarons in four different flavours, and a cascade of flowers.
The Great British Bake Off returns Tuesday 24th September at 8pm on Channel 4
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