Meet the 12 contestants taking part in this year's Great British Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off will soon be hitting screens for its 11th series (Photo: Channel 4)The Great British Bake Off will soon be hitting screens for its 11th series (Photo: Channel 4)
The Great British Bake Off will soon be hitting screens for its 11th series (Photo: Channel 4)

The Great British Bake Off will soon be hitting screens for its 11th series, inviting viewers to follow the group of talented bakers as they battle it out each week in the hope of being crowned the nation’s best baker.

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But who will be taking part in this year’s show? Here’s everything you need to know about the baking class of 2020, and when you can watch them on TV.

Who are this year’s contestants?

This year there will be 12 bakers in total, who will be judged by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, with returning host Noel Fielding and newbie Matt Lucas replacing Sandi Toksvig.

Dave, 30:A security guard from Hampshire, when Dave is not baking his other interests include cars and taking his dog and cat for a walk.

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Hermine, 39Accountant Hermine was born and raised in Benin, West Africa. She moved to London in 2001 to study.

Laura, 31Laura is a digital manager from Gravesend, Kent. She loves musical theatre and also volunteers for the Samaritans.

Linda, 61:Linda is a retirement living team leader from East Sussex. She discovered her love of baking during childhood visits to her aunt's dairy farm.

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Loriea, 27:A diagnostic radiographer from Durham, Loriea uses baking as a way of celebrating her Caribbean roots.

Lottie 31:Lottie is a pantomime producer from West Sussex who grew up watching cooking shows.

Makbul, 51:An accountant from Greater Manchester, Makbul is a self-taught baker that refined his baking skills through TV shows, and began cooking as a way to support his mum.

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Marc, 51:Marc is a bronze resin sculptor from Cornwall, who started baking bread as a form of therapy after losing his leg in a motorbike accident in 2016.

Mark, 32:A public health project worker from Northern Ireland, Mark lives in Liverpool. His style is influenced by his Irish heritage and also by the flavours of Africa and Asia.

Peter, 20:An accounting and finance student from Edinburgh who likes to include Scottish ingredients in his baking.

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Rowan, 55:Rowan is a music teacher from Worcestershire and he enjoys decorating his baked goods with flowers from his garden.

Sura, 31:A pharmacy dispenser who grew up with influences from Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and India, and loves to experiment with flavours from around the world.

How was Bake Off filmed during the pandemic?

The bakers were selected by April of this year, but coronavirus restrictions meant that the filming schedule had to be rewritten, with this year’s series hitting TV screens a month later than it usually does.

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The popular baking show is normally filmed over three months, largely taking place at weekends.

However, this year the producers asked the contestants to take six weeks off work and stay in a secure filming location due to coronavirus restrictions.

The show’s new base this year was Down Hall Hotel in Essex, which housed the production team, bakers, hosts, judges, hotel staff and cleaners all together.

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When will Bake Off 2020 be on TV?

The first episode of Great British Bake Off 2020 will air on Channel 4 on Tuesday 22 September at 8pm, returning each week at the same time.

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister title, Yorkshire Evening Post.

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