The Great British Bake Off 2021 unveils its 12 BRAND NEW bakers! From the Caribbean to Germany, Goa, Kenya and Greece… this year’s line-up is more inspired by contestants’ foreign heritage than ever
- Between them, this year’s cast come from far and wide, with family from Goa to Germany to Greece, as well as Cyprus, Kenya, Portugal and the Middle East
- A vast array of professions will also be in the tent, from a Met Police Detective to a Software Developer to a retired Nurse and Midwife
- The youngest of this year’s wannabe winners is a 19-year-old vegan pyschology student from Yorkshire, while the rest of the contestants range between ages 26 – 70
- Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are of course back, as well as hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding
- The show’s season 12 debut takes place on September 21 on Channel 4 at 8PM
The line-up for The Great British Bake Off 2021 has been unveiled, ahead of the show’s season 12 debut on September 21 on Channel 4 at 8PM.
Fans have been chomping at the bit to find out who will be competing in the tent this year, as teasers began dropping last week on TV and social media.
And more than half of the new line-up is inspired by its contestants’ foreign heritage – with a diverse mixture of cultures being brought to the tent, promising some exciting bakes to come.
A baker’s dozen! The line-up for The Great British Bake Off 2021 has been unveiled, ahead of the show’s season 12 debut on September 21 on Channel 4 at 8PM [L-R: New stars Elizabeth, George, Juergen, Crystelle, Jairzeno, Rochica, Giuseppe, Tom, Maggie, Chirag, Amanda and Freya]
Between them, this year’s cast come from far and wide, with family from Goa to Germany to Greece, as well as Cyprus, Kenya, Portugal and the Middle East.
A vast array of professions will also be in the tent, from a Met Police Detective to a Software Developer to a retired Nurse and Midwife.
The youngest of this year’s wannabe winners is a 19-year-old vegan pyschology student from Yorkshire, while the rest of the contestants range between ages 26 – 70.
Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are of course back, as well as hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding.
The Channel 4 show was filmed earlier this year with the contestants and crew placed in a COVID-safe filming bubble – the second time this has happened amid the pandemic.
Unveiled! Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are of course back, as well as hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding
Class of 2021: More than half of the new line-up is inspired by its contestants’ foreign heritage – with a diverse mixture of cultures being brought to the tent, promising some exciting bakes to come
GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2021: WHO ARE THE CONTESTANTS?
Dancing her way into the competition: Rochica’s interest in baking developed when she was left unable to dance due to an injury
Bread winner: Lover of traditional baking, Maggie’s favourite recipe is bread
ROCHICA
MAGGIE
Age: 27
Occupation: Junior HR Business Partner
From: Birmingham
With a big Jamaican family on both sides, Rochica bakes in a way that reflects her Caribbean heritage. Rochica’s interest in baking developed when she was left unable to dance due to an injury.
Age: 70
Occupation: Retired Nurse and Midwife
From: Dorset
Maggie has an impressive collection of classic recipe books and loves recreating traditional bakes. Her favourite thing to bake is bread.
Έτοιμο, σετ, ψήσιμο! George grew up in a close-knit Greek-Cypriot family where food was always a big part of family life
GEORGE
Age: 34
Occupation: Shared Lives Coordinator
From: London
George grew up in a close-knit Greek-Cypriot family where food was always a big part of family life. His mum taught him to bake all the Greek classics, a legacy he’s now passing on to his three children.
Revving up the competition: Car Production Operative Lizzie loves baking cakes
LIZZIE
Age: 28
Occupation: Car Production Operative
From: Liverpool
Lizzie lives with dog, Prudence, in an annex in her parents garden and her baking comfort zone is cake. In her spare time she loves dancing.
Life-long dream: Freya has wanted to enter Bake Off since the first series, when she was aged nine and saw the tent in Bakewell
FREYA
Age: 19
Occupation: Psychology Student
From: North Yorkshire
Freya has wanted to enter Bake Off since the first series, when she was aged nine and saw the tent in Bakewell. She likes to create plant-based bakes.
Pronto, impostato, cuocere! Originally from Italy, Giuseppe was inspired to bake by his father, a professional chef
GIUSEPPE
Age: 45
Occupation: Chief Engineer
From: Bristol
Originally from Italy, Giuseppe now lives in Bristol with his wife and their three young sons. He was inspired to bake by his father, a professional chef and loves using Italian flavours.
Black Forest (Gateaux): Jürgen hails from Germany and bakes his own traditional German bread
JÜRGEN
Age: 56
Occupation: Computer Pro
From: Sussex
Originally from the Black Forest in Germany, Jürgen moved to the UK in 2003. Unable to find traditional German bread here he decided to bake his own – and his passion has grown ever since.
Locking it in: Chigs took up baking at the start of the first lockdown in 2020
CHIGS
Age: 40
Occupation: Sales Manager
From: Leicestershire
Chigs took up baking at the start of lockdown in 2020 teaching himself complex techniques by carefully studying online videos.
Bringing the force: Cop Amanda learned to bake with her mum and paternal auntie
AMANDA
Age: 56
Occupation: Met Police Detective
From: London
Raised in London with Greek-Cypriot heritage, the mother-of-two’s bakes are heavily influenced by Greece and the Middle East having learned to bake with her mum and paternal auntie.
Midnight baker: Before he moved out of the family home, Tom’s mum says she would often wake up to a sweet treat
TOM
Age: 28
Occupation: Software Developer
From: Kent
Tom’s mum has dubbed him the ‘midnight baker’ as before he moved out of the family home she would often wake up to a sweet treat… and a pile of washing up!
Quadrilingual Crystelle! This home baker brings her diverse heritage to the flavours in her baking
CRYSTELLE
Age: 26
Occupation: Client Relationship Manager
From: London
Quadrilingual Crystelle is a baker who brings her wonderfully diverse heritage – born in northwest London to Kenyan born, Portuguese-Goan parents – to the flavours in her baking.
‘Baking is like breathing!’ Trinidadian-born Jairzeno spices up his baking with lots of Caribbean flavours
JAIRZENO
Age: 51
Occupation: Head Of Finance
From: London
Trinidadian-born Jairzeno says ‘baking is like breathing’. He loves using lots of Caribbean spices in his bakes. When he’s not baking he loves running.
A teaser appeared online last week, featuring the famous white tent amid green lush trees with the show’s theme tune piping up. The clip was captioned: ‘Loaf is in the air… The Great British Bake Off. Coming Soon.’
Then a post on Twitter appeared, featuring the judges and presenters. ‘Bake a date in your diaries – we’re back!’ was the caption under the snap of the quartet of stars, each holding a mug spelling out ‘Bake Off Is Back!’ as they stood before the famous baking tent.
Spin-off show The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice returns on September 24 following the return of the main series just three days earlier with hosts Jo Brand and Tom Allen.
Last week, the show won a TV Choice Award, with Paul Hollywood recording a message to accept the gong.
Along with its sister shows Bake Off: The Professionals and The Great British Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer, the long-running show reigned in the Best Talent Show category.
Diverse: Between them, this year’s cast come from far and wide, with family from Goa to Germany to Greece, as well as Cyprus, Kenya, Portugal and the Middle East
Back for more! The Great British Bake Off is set to return on September 21 on Channel 4; Jo Brand and Tom Allen are set to return to Channel 4 with The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice on Friday September 24
Series 12 was filmed once again at Down Hall, an established country house hotel in Hertfordshire. The cast and crew took over the luxe hotel for six weeks, to avoid staff and stars getting pinged by the NHS app.
To ensure minimal COVID risk, hundreds of the show’s workers had no choice but to remain on site once they arrived in early June.
According to reports in The Sun, judges Paul, 55, and Prue, 81, alongside hosts Matt, 47, and Noel, 48, joined staff at the bar most nights.
One source said: ‘Some nights we all went to the hotel bar and there was music playing and we carried on partying.’
The Great British Bake Off is set to return on September 21 on Channel 4 at 8PM; The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice returns on September 24 at 8PM.
Variety is the spice of life! A vast array of professions will also be in the tent, from a Met Police Detective to a Software Developer to a retired Nurse and Midwife
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