An NHS worker and menswear designer are among the bakers who will compete in this year’s series of The Great British Bake Off. The contestants will be competing to impress judges Dame Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood across a series of challenges where they will be tasked with baking cakes, biscuits and breads, among other tasty creations, in a bid to be named Bake Off champion. This year’s 12 bakers include car mechanic Andy, retail assistant Dylan, palliative care assistant Nelly, paediatric nurse Georgie, and senior category manager Gill.
Among the other bakers are former nail technician Hazel, who is the group’s oldest baker at 71, and dentistry student Sumayah, who, at the age of 19, is the youngest contestant competing this year. The teenager from Lancashire is currently on her gap year and is an entirely self-taught baker who once made a one metre-tall macaron tower for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration. Hazel, who lives in Kent and has four children and 10 grandchildren, said her weakness is baking biscuits while her strength is making beautiful cakes.
Also in the mix this year is qualified midwife and published author Illiyin from Norfolk, John from the West Midlands – who works in the NHS, and Mike from Wiltshire who is a fourth-generation farmer and was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards. Alongside these contestants are a couple of bakers who applied to the show years after emigrating to the UK. Chri.