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Start date and full list of contestants

Brace yourself as a fresh batch of recruits are about to enter the tent for a new season of The Great British Bake Off.

Twelve culinary enthusiasts are determined to bake, knead, pipe and whisk their way to the final to become this year’s Great British Bake Off (GBBO) winner.

Contestants for series 15 of the Channel 4 show range from a 19-year-old soon-to-be dentistry student to a 71-year-old former nail technician.

But they all have one thing in common – they love to bake.

Back judging their offerings will be Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.

While presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will be keeping viewers up-to-date with all the kitchen capers as they happen in the grounds of Welford Park in Berkshire.

Start date and full list of contestants
Presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are back for series 15 of GBBO (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

When does The Great British Bake Off start?

The Great British Bake Off returns to screens on Tuesday 24 September at 8pm on Channel 4.

The first show will be an hour-and-a-half long and see the contestants bake a loaf cake and craft culinary illusions.

The 10 weekly episodes will be complimented by The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice with Jo Brand and Tom Allen on Thursday evenings at 8pm on Channel 4.

Who are this year’s contestants?

Andy

Andy
Andy from Essex is one of the conteastants in this year’s GBBO (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Andy is a 44-year-old car mechanic from Essex who hopes to do his mum proud and inspire his daughter Maisie with his baking skills.

He first learnt to bake family favourites apple crumble to follow a Sunday roast and Bakewell tarts made using pastry offcuts.

Now his ambition is to re-create the Emirates Football Stadium in cake form.

He said: “I was so surprised how calm I was with the cameras on me.

“I think because I was so focused and my mind was rotating recipes and methods I had nothing else to think of!

“I just hope I don’t come across as being a big doughnut!!”

Christiaan

Christiaan
Christiaan is originally from The Netherlands (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/ Channel 4

Originally from the Netherlands, menswear designer Christiaan studied fashion in Amsterdam before moving to London seven years ago.

The 33-year-old has a passion for modern art, stately homes and gardening and likes to bring floral notes into his baking.

Bread is his comfort zone, reminding him of the age-shaped bakes his mum would make for him and his siblings on their birthdays.

He said: “I would absolutely love to create a fantasy world people would be able to walk through, like in Willy Wonka, completely edible!

“Using all the things you can think of – biscuits, chocolate, meringue, etc.

Dylan

Dylan
Dylan’s baking is inspired by his travels (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Dylan is a 20-year-old retail temp from Buckinghamshire, who is a keen skateboarder and artist.

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, he says, is inspired by a mix of Japanese bakes he tried on his travels and the work of French patisseries chefs he has seen on social media.

He added that his strengths are “flavours” and his weaknesses are “cakes”.

Georgie

Georgie
Georgie’s love of food stems from her Italian roots (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Georgie says her love of food and baking stems from her Italian roots and her Nonna Rosa.

The 34-year-old paediatric nurse from Carmarthenshire enjoys foraging in the hedgerows and fields around her Welsh farmhouse for ingredients.

And when she is not baking, the mother-of-three is looking after her small menagerie of animals and collecting crockery and tableware.

She said: “My strengths as a baker are that 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 be able to pack as much flavour into my baking and cooking, in little time.”

Gill

Gill
Gill has put her baking skills to use fundraising for charity (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Gill believes her love of precision data and her inherent creativity are the perfect match for successful baking.

The senior category manager from Lancashire says she can’t remember a time when she didn’t bake, growing up baking was very much a family activity.

Since her father died in 2015, she has turned to it for comfort and to help fundraise for money for Alzheimer’s charities in his memory.

Her sticky toffee Christmas pudding has become legendary at family celebrations and her other claim to fame is that in 1993 she was the UK’s youngest driving instructor aged 21.

Among her previous cake conquests, she said: “I made my wedding cake back in the day which was seven cakes with sugar flowers – it even had a light!

“The longest I have spent on a cake more recently is about 30 hours to make a golf bag cake complete with clubs.”

Hazel

Hazel
Hazel loves to bake for her 10 grandchildren (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Hazel has been married to her childhood sweetheart for 51 years and has four children and 10 grandchildren.

The former nail technician from Kent loves family get-togethers and has baked some unusual birthday cakes, including some remote-controlled cars and a carousel with 500 edible diamonds for her granddaughter’s seventh birthday.

When she’s not baking, the 71-year-old likes to relax by playing bingo.

She said a highlight of the first episode for her was “when I carried my Showstopper handbag by the handle to the judging table everyone clapped, even Paul, Prue, Noel and Alison”.

” That felt good”, she said.

Illiyin

Illiyin
Midwife Illiyin loves using Middle Eastern ingredients in her baking (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Illiyin was born in London but grew up in Norfolk where she still lives with her husbands and two children.

The 31-year-old birth trauma specialist midwife and published author said she loves using Middle Eastern ingredients, such as dried fruits, nuts, honey, rose and mint, in her cakes; while her savoury bakes are inspired by the flavours of the Caribbean.

She said: “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.”

Jeff

Jeff
Originally from the Bronx, Jeff makes a mean New York Cheesecake. (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Hailing from the Bronx in New York, Jeff is a former university lecturer who lives in West Yorkshire.

He 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.

A keen sportsman, the 67-year-old started baking were his children were little having learn the basics from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother.

He lays claim to making a mean New York Cheesecake.

Speaking about meeting the show’s hosts, he said: “I had a conversation with Noel and I don’t know what he was talking about but it was very good fun!  

“Alison and I talked about New York.  

“They are both a great antidote to the stress in the tent.”

John

John
NHS worker John bakes to honour his grandmother’s memory (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

A former hairdresser and estate agent, John found his calling working in the NHS as a directorate support manager, keeping schedules and theatre bookings running like clockwork.

After work, the West Midlands based 37-year-old enjoys walking his cavapoo Stanley in the countryside.

He learnt to bake with his nan making fairy cakes and pies and now bakes to honour his nan’s memory and pass on the skills to his two young nephews.

His baking ambition is to “make a Showstopper of a water fountain… with actual moving water”.

“I have the picture in my head but no idea where I would start!”, he added.

Mike

Mike
Mike plans to bake his own wedding cake for his upcoming nuptials (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Fourth-generation farmer Mike was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards.

The 29-year-old works on his family’s farm in Wiltshire with his parents and sister and is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within farming.

He is currently growing all the flowers for his upcoming marriage to partner Matt and is even making his own wedding cake.

One of the highlights of the first episode for Mike was “Alison and I singing and dancing to the Magic Mike theme” which he described as “one of the most surreal, hilarious, incredible and special moments of my life, I will treasure that memory forever!”

Nelly

Nelly
Nelly is a completely self-taught baker (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Growing up in Slovakia, Nelly would bake bread with her dad but didn’t attempt sweet treats until she was adult.

The palliative care assistant, who lives in Dorset with her husband and two sons, said she loves adding the flavours of Slovakian cuisine into her bakes and the spices of her husband’s Pakistani heritage.

When she’s not working or baking, she also likes to channel her creative energy into making jewellery.

Speaking about her baking strengths, she said: “I think generally in my life my strength is my joy… joy of life and I take everything in my life as it comes and turn it to something positive. 

“So if a cake goes wrong I will improvise and always fix it somehow.   

“Buttercream is a great invention!”

Sumayah

Sumayah
Sumayah is taking a gap year before becoming a dentistry student. (Photo: Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

Sumayah is currently on a gap year before heading to university to study dentisty.

The 19-year-old from Lancashire is a is a keen sewer, making her own clothes, and photographer.

A self-taught baker, she meticulously researches her creations and likes to create an a fusion of cultures and flavours.

A one-metre tall, 240-strong macaron tower with a cascade of flowers which she made for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration confirmed her love of baking.

She said: “I still can’t believe I actually got in, it’s unbelievable!

“I missed the phone call five times so I was the last baker they notified.

“I remember hearing the news and I felt so numb, I didn’t know whether to be excited or terrified.

“I still don’t know how to feel about it.”

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