Bake Off 2023 contestants: Meet the new line-up as Channel 4 show returns

Summer coming to a close can mean only one thing: Channel 4 will soon be serving up another slice of The Great British Bake Off to help keep our sugar levels high while Autumn arrives.

Over the years, this hugely popular baking show — in which 12 amateur bakers enter its iconic tent and compete to whip up handshake-earning bakes and emerge victorious — has gone on to become a comfort food viewing staple.

Read more: What happened to the winners of the Great British Bake Off?

However, as the competition’s 14th edition prepares to be plated up, it comes with a few noticeable differences.

Here’s everything we know about its return so far, including its hosts, contestants, judges, air date and more.

When does The Great British Bake Off return?

As usual, The Great British Bake Off will return to Channel 4 in September — this time on Tuesday, 26 at 8pm — so we don't have long to wait before it arrives.

Typically lasting for 10 episodes, we can enjoy new episodes weekly until November ends and a winner is new winner is revealed.

The Great British Bake Off contestants

While its hosts and judges are key ingredients to the show's success, it’s the contestants that really put the ‘great’ into each edition of Bake Off.

The new bakers have been revealed:

Abby, 27

Cumbria

Veg grower and delivery driver

Abbi — who 'bakes with a touch of fairytale' — takes her baking inspiration from the great outdoors, foraging for seasonal ingredients, and growing her own veg. She's a big fan of traditional bakes from the Victoria era.

Amos, 43

North London

Deli and grocery manager

Amos inherited his love of baking from his mum who was able to whip up delicious bakes at the snap of a finger. His own style is 'colourful and chic' with a keen attention to detail, saying he likes his bakes to be 'traditional with a modern twist'.

Cristy, 33

East London

Mum and PA

Mum of four Cristy draws inspiration for her baking from her Israeli heritage and her husband's Jamaican toors. Her speciality is cakes, and she loves decorating. She can also solve a Rubik's cube in under four minutes.

Dan, 42

Cheshire

Civil engineering resource planner

Patisserie expert Dan has over 300 cookbooks at home from which he draws inspiration for his favourite puddings and pies. He describes himself as a perfectionist who has been cooking since 2007.

Dana, 25

Essex

Database administrator

Dana is a self-confessed 'untidy baker' who loves to make celebration cakes for her family and describes her baking style as 'rustic and homely'. Although she likes to play it safe with flavours, she's not averse to adding spices associated with her Indian heritage.

Josh, 27

Leicestershire

Post-doctoral research associate

Josh is bringing his chemist skills to Bake Off and will demonstrate his attention to detail and keenness to experiment with baking in the tent. A keen rugby player, he says he often bakes treats for his teammates for post-training session indulgence.

Keith, 60

Hampshire

Chartered accountant

At 60, Keith is this year's oldest baker, who learned to bake off his mum who would cook him traditional dishes from her home of Malta. He's recently got into baking bread, and has been revisiting cookbooks from the 1970s to attempt recipes that were once 'beyond him'.

Matty, 28

Cambridgeshire

PE and science teacher

Teacher Matty is his family's designated baker, making cakes for all sorts of celebrations — including his own wedding cake for his upcoming nuptials with fiancée Lara. He says his baking style is 'rustic but neat' and prefers traditional flavours.

Nicky, 52

West Midlands

Retired cabin crew and volunteer

Nicky learned to bake from her grandmother, who she would often help in the kitchen as a child. She describes her desserts as being "little traditional bakes that evoke fond memories" and she hopes to wow the judges with her breads and cakes.

Rowan, 21

West Yorkshire

Student

Rowan — the youngest baker this year — loves to show off his "grand, opulent side" when baking and doesn't do things by halves, he is excited to practice his skills in the Bake Off tent and make extravagant dishes for the judges after already impressing his university friends with his baking.

Saku, 50

Herefordshire

Intelligence analyst

Saku hails from Sri Lanka and she enjoys taking his country's unique ingredients and flavours and using them in her baking, she found her passion for baking when she moved to the UK with her husband in 2003 and she now hopes to celebrate Sri Lankan cuisine in the competition.

Tasha, 27

Bristol

Participation officer

Tasha was first inspired to start baking after learning from her mother and grandmother, she now loves to be "fearless" with her baking and uses her time in the kitchen to express her creativity through food which she hopes will win over the judges.

Who is hosting The Great British Bake Off this year?

Life in the tent will be a little different this year. Actor and comedian Matt Lucas revealed in December that he would be leaving the show to focus on other commitments after spending the past three series co-hosting the series and chatting to bakers mid-bake (and often mid-stress).

The news left his Bake-Off partner Noel Fielding co-hostless — but it wasn’t long before a replacement was unveiled with ITV’s Good Morning presenter Alison Hammond stepping in.

In late August, we got our first glimpse of Hammond’s Bake-Off debut via a photo of her standing with her new co-host Fielding and the show’s judges outside of its familiar tent.

This was shortly followed by a teaser trailer released by Channel 4 which provided an animated introduction to Hammond’s arrival.

Set to Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth, the one-minute advert saw various ingredients making their way to the Bake Off kitchen and being mixed together to make a big chocolate cake, adorned with raspberries.

Judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are joined by Fielding and later Hammond herself before each tuck into the freshly baked treat.

The Great British Bake Off was originally hosted by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc from its 2010 debut until 2016 when the show switched to Channel 4.

Once there, the series was hosted by Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, the latter of whom continued to host until the end of series 10 in 2019.

Who is judging The Great British Bake Off this year?

Despite having a bit of a host switch-up, long-time Bake Off viewers will be pleased to know that the show’s judges haven’t gone anywhere. Hollywood and Leith once again return to the tent to strike fear into the eyes and aprons of the show’s new hopefuls.

Hollywood has been with Bake Off since the show started, while Leith joined after the series switched to Channel 4 in 2017, taking over from previous judge Mary Berry.

Series 14 of The Great British Bake Off starts on Tuesday, 26 September at 8pm on Channel 4.