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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
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Rachael Davies

Bake Off: When does Great British Bake Off 2022 start and who are the contestants?

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will return to judge the hit baking show

(Picture: Channel 4/Love Productions)

You know it’s truly autumn when the Great British Bake Off is back on our screens and the latest trailer for the baking show reveals that it will return very soon.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will return to appraise the bakes, while Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas are also coming back to the tent to present the show.

A Tweet from the official GBBO account shows a group photo of all the 2022 contestants, featuring a wide range of people of different backgrounds and ages.

Here’s a look at what we know so far, including introductions to the GBBO bakers for the upcoming season.

When does the Great British Bake Off start?

Channel 4 has confirmed that the show's 13th season will officially start on Tuesday, September 13, airing at 8pm.

It will be available to catch up on 4oD, Channel 4’s On Demand service.

It was previously confirmed that the show has been renewed for Channel 4 for another three years, after moving from the BBC five seasons ago.

Who are the Great British Bake Off contestants?

  • Abdul, 29, London

An avid salsa dancer and a self-confessed space nerd, electronics engineerAbdul’s love of baking began when he and his fellow graduates baked for each other to brighten up their daily coffee breaks.

  • Carole, 59, Dorset

Supermarket cashier Carole brings her creative flair to both her hobbies: gardening and baking. She excels in creating colourful and unusual bakes that are inspired by her love for horticulture.

  • Dawn, 60, Bedfordshire

Describing herself as an artist in and out of the kitchen, IT Manager Dawn loves the challenge of an illusion cake - the harder, the better! She loves to get stuck into fantastical designs that let her creativity flow.

  • James, 25, Cumbria

A scientist through and through, nuclear scientist James enjoys the technical side of baking but is at his best when he can make something truly his own, with his signature “child-friendly horror” style and charming decorations.

  • Janusz, 34, East Sussex

Working as a Personal Assistant to a headteacher, Janusz describes his baking style as “cartoon-like, colourful and camp”. He loves to get creative by including Polish ingredients in British staples.

  • Kevin, 33, Lanarkshire

Music teacher Kevin began baking when he was 17 years old. His ethos in the kitchen is to use the best, seasonal ingredients and to spend time refining techniques. From there, he believes the presentation will sort itself out.

  • Maisam, 18, Greater Manchester

The youngest contestant on this year’s show, student Maisam loves to get creative, spending her spare time photographing still-lifes and the world around her. A baker since she was about 13 years old, she loves the science of baking, often repeating a bake multiple times to get it just right.

  • Maxy, 29, London

Currently working as an architectural assistant, Maxy began baking five years ago after the birth of her first daughter. She already had impressive art skills and puts them to delicious use when creating beautifully decorated celebration cakes. Her favourite flavours can be traced back to her Scandinavian upbringing, particularly the sweet and delicate spice of cardamom, saffron buns, and cinnamon rolls.

  • Rebs, 23, County Antrim

Masters Student Rebs’s earliest baking memory is from when she was only three years old, helping her mother in the kitchen and eating her granny’s well-loved lemon-meringue pies! Just recently, Rebs was inspired to experiment with Middle Eastern ingredients as well, in a nod to her boyfriend Jack’s Turkish family heritage.

  • Sandro, 30, London

When nanny Sandro was two, his father passed away and he turned to baking as a form of therapy to cope with his grief. Today, he still loves to bake and is often found rustling something up at home, or running virtual baking classes for children with autism.

  • Syabira, 32, London

Malaysian-born Syabira enjoys recreating the sweet treats she enjoyed with her friends back home, amd loves red-velvet cake. She is all for giving Malaysian-style twists to British classics, including a particular favourite of chicken rendang Cornish pasties.

  • Will, 45, London

Former charity director Will’s passion for baking started when he was just two years old, when he would turn his mum’s pastry trimming into tiny jam tarts. A lover of the technical side of baking, he particularly likes using yeast in all his bakes, not just bread!

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