Last year's Great British Bake Off star Amanda Georgiou has revealed how to nab a place on the hit show.
The star has advised wannabe contestants how best to get past the audition stage and secure a place in the iconic tent, and explained what happens during the "technical, almost like a quiz" conversation that takes place if your initial application is successful.
Amanda - who was the sixth baker to leave last year's series - warned hopeful bakers that you get a "grilling" during the audition process and it's best not to lie about any of your credentials, as Channel 4 bosses will catch you out and you'll miss out on a place on the show.
The former contestant's revelations about the award-winning show comes as it's confirmed this year's series of the Great British Bake Off has survived the TV upheaval, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.
Fans of the baking show can tune into Channel 4 this evening [September 13] to watch a batch of 12 new contestants try to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith by producing 12 mini cakes, alongside other challenges.
Speaking to Johnny Seifert on the Secure the Insecure podcast, Bake Off alumni Amanda recalled filling in a detailed application form with snaps of her culinary creations before appearing on the much-loved show last year.
"It's what your hobbies are, what things you like to bake what things you hate to bake, what are you good at what you're not good at," she explained during the candid chat.
"I mean, the application is something else. They want you to send in photos as well, it's not just an application form. They want to see at least five photos of different styles of baking, but that's a minimum.
"I think I sent up to about 20 photos. It takes you forever just to fill that in and then you wait for a phone call, which you may or may not get."
Amanda - who left the famous tent when her showstopper pie fell apart in Pastry Week - went on to admit the next stage of the audition process is similar to a job application.
"The phone call is technical, almost like a quiz. You spend an hour talking to someone who knows everything about baking, asking lots of questions to see if you actually are as knowledgeable as you've said in your application," she recalled on the podcast.
"You know what it's like when you fill out an application for a job or anything, we all exaggerate a bit that we say, 'Yeah, I got all these A stars and I'm brilliant at this and I'm brilliant at that'.
She added: "And of course, you did the same thing on Bake Off, but they test you on that. So if you're not as good as you say you are they will, they will work it out and you won't get another phone call. So you need to get through that technical quiz. First of all, before you go any further.
"They might ask you what sort of things make your cake go flat. They also wan to know how many different types of pastries are there, how many different types of butter creams are there, you know, you got swiss meringue, buttercream, Italian rang butter cream…
"There's so many reasons, so you need to understand why things go wrong to be a good baker because you need to make sure you don't do it again."
The latest series of the Great British Bake Off returns to our screens this evening, with Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding once again hosting the hugely popular baking show, after fears the series premiere would be postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
On Friday - one day after Buckingham Palace announced Britain's longest serving monarch had passed away - Channel 4 launched the new series of Gogglebox, saying it would bring a "valuable sense of continuity" for many viewers.
*The Great British Bake Off airs on Channel 4 at 8pm on Tuesday, September 13
