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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
The 12 contestants for the new series of The Great British Bake Off have been announced ahead of the Channel 4 show’s return on 24 September.
The 15th season of the show presented by Noel Fielding, Alison Hammond, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will see the 12 amateur bakers, from eclectic backgrounds and professions compete for this year’s baking crown.
Among the bakers are 71-year-old former nail technician and mother of four Hazel from Kent and 19-year-old Sumayah, the youngest contestant on this year’s show, who is a dentistry student from Lancashire.
Without further ado, let’s meet the bakers hoping to impress the judges this year and make it all the way to the final.
Gill
Gill is a 53-year-old senior category manager from Lancashire. An avid baker since an early age, Gill has been raising money with her baked goods, including pies, cakes and pastries for Alzheimer’s charities since 2015. In an unusual factoid, Gill became the UK’s youngest driving instructor in 1993, aged just 21.
Nelly
Nelly is a 44-year-old palliative care assistant from Dorset via Slovakia. She grew up in Slovakia with her father before moving to Austria to become a nurse. As well as baking traditional Slovakian cuisine she also likes to add a bit of spice to things to represent her husband’s Pakistani heritage.
Mike
Mike is a 29-year-old farm manager from Wiltshire who was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards and is an advocate for the LGBT+ community in the farm industry. Impressively, Mike is growing the flowers and making the cake for his forthcoming wedding to his partner Matt.
Hazel
The aforementioned Hazel is a former nail technician from Kent who at 71, is the oldest contestant on this year’s show. The mother of four and grandmother of 10, has made several car-themed cakes with working steering wheels and lights.
John
37-year-old John is a Directorate Support Manager for the NHS from the West Midlands. He previously worked as a hairdresser and an estate agent. He learnt to bake with his nan, making fairy cakes and pies, and now bakes to honour her memories and pass her skills on to his two nephews.
Georgie
Georgie is a 34-year-old paediatric nurse from Carmarthenshire, Wales. She is a forager whose food is inspired by her Italian roots and a self-proclaimed cannoli connoisseur. Georgie is also an animal lover and owns ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat.
Christiaan
Christiaan is a 34-year-old fashion designer originally from Emmen in the Netherlands but now residing in London. He studied fashion in Amsterdam before moving to the UK seven years ago and likes to incorporate his profession into his meticulously detailed bakes.
Dylan
20-year-old Dylan is a retail assistant from Buckinghamshire who has a diverse heritage with an Indian mother and Japanese-Belgian father. The skateboarder is immensely proud of his roots and likes to paint Japanese-inspired characters onto his clothes.
Andy
44-year-old Andy is a mechanic from Essex, who has baked virtually his entire life. Starting as a child alongside his mother, he learned to make staples such as apple crumbles and Bakewell tarts.
Jeff
Adding to the international flavour of this year’s show is 57-year-old Jeff, who is originally from The Bronx in New York City but has lived in West Yorkshire since 1987. Jeff is an active individual who previously played basketball and began baking after having kids, picking up the basics from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother.
Sumayah
The youngest baker on GBBO 2024 is 19-year-old Sumayah, a dentistry student from Lancashire. The teenager is an entirely self-taught baker who even makes her own clothes. She previously made a macaron tower for her aunt’s wedding which stood at 1 metre tall and included 240 macarons.
Illiyin
31-year-old Illiyin is a Birth trauma specialist midwife from Norfolk, who is also a published author. Illiyin enjoys using Middle Eastern ingredients in her sweet treats, such as dried fruit and nuts. Meanwhile, her savoury bakes are often inspired by the Caribbean.
