Great British Bake Off 2026 returns: Who are the 12 Contestants in Tonight’s Cake Week?

A new batch of bakers is ready to swap their day jobs for mixing bowls and the famous Bake Off tent, as The Great British Bake Off returns tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.

Series 17 gets underway with Cake Week, as 12 new contestants are welcomed by hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding before facing judges Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson.

From a drag king and a paediatric doctor to students, artists, NHS workers and a retired garment technologist, this year’s bakers come from a wide range of backgrounds — and each brings their own baking style and story to the tent.

Here are the 12 contestants taking part in this year’s Bake Off.

Clara, 24 — Hertfordshire

Marketing graduate

Originally from Aveiro in Portugal, Clara moved to the UK at 18 to study marketing and discovered baking as a creative outlet two years ago.

A self-described passionate Portuguese polyglot, she loves colourful, elaborate designs paired with fresh and fruity flavours. She has also enjoyed introducing her British fiancé Kieran and his family to Portuguese classics such as Tarte de Nata.

Away from the kitchen, Clara is a huge animal lover, with a spaniel named Gigi and a pygmy hedgehog called Pecan. She describes herself as a “fantasy girly” and hopes to bring plenty of colour and Portuguese sunshine to the Bake Off tent.

Connie, 63 — London

NHS hospital discharge lead

Connie has been baking for more than 20 years and is affectionately known as “the Cake Lady”.

Baking is her way of unwinding after a busy day working for the NHS, with carrot cake among her specialities. Her favourite flavours include rum fruit, lemon and lavender, and she keeps fruit permanently soaking in rum, wine and cinnamon.

Connie lives in London with her husband Myke, a musician and music teacher. The couple run a music centre together, where students are often called upon to sample her latest creations.

When she isn’t baking, Connie enjoys black-and-white films, audiobooks and thriller series.

Danni, 25 — Dorset

HGV service centre administrator

Curious and experimental, Danni likes taking inspiration from the natural world and often incorporates foraged ingredients into their baking.

Magnolia, chestnut and dandelion have all featured alongside flavours including ube and red bean paste. Their designs are also influenced by video games and animation.

Danni works alongside their dad at an HGV service centre and is something of an all-round tinkerer. They enjoy everything from anime doodling and soldering to designing websites and creating visual novel games using Ren’Py.

They have even managed to resurrect an old VCR.

Gabe, 32 — West Midlands

Artist and drag king

Gabe discovered baking after watching the very first series of Bake Off at the age of 13.

Now a performer and artist in the West Midlands, Gabe describes their baking as “gorgeous but very homemade”. They have a particular fondness for savoury, meat-filled bakes — as well as meringue.

Gabe performs as drag persona Blü Romantic and describes themselves as the “daddy of Birmingham drag”. Their creative talents also extend to costume design, theatre production and crafting, having even made a wedding dress for their best friend.

At home, Gabe enjoys gardening, hosting dinner parties and spending time with partners Ellis and Tyler and their two sausage dogs, Dill and Sage.

Gary, 67 — Nottinghamshire

Retired garment technologist

Gary only discovered his passion for baking later in life, buying his first cookbook in a gift shop five years ago.

Since then, he has developed a precise and methodical style, combining traditional recipes with creative touches and an emphasis on presentation. Citrus flavours are particular favourites.

Gary lives with his wife of more than 30 years, Donna, on a smallholding in Nottinghamshire, surrounded by sheep, horses, chickens, miniature pygmy goats and Shetland ponies.

Having overcome prostate cancer himself, Gary also uses bake sales and coffee mornings to support cancer charities. When he’s not in the kitchen, he can usually be found walking his two Border Collies, Ollie and Alfie.

Molly, 31 — London

Accessibility coordinator

Molly has been baking for more than 25 years, having been inspired by her grandmother.

She favours traditional bakes and classic flavours, with hazelnut, fresh fruit and mint among her favourites. Baking became particularly important to her during a difficult period in 2020, helping her stay motivated and connected with friends and family.

Molly works for a disability charity, where she reviews accessibility in transport. Away from work and baking, she’s a musical theatre fan and is involved with local drama groups.

She’s also a devoted Formula 1 fan and is currently working on an enormous 350,000-stitch cross-stitch landscape of Rivendell.

Moyin, 22 — Essex

Political economy student

Moyin has been baking since he was five, when he started helping his mum in the kitchen. By the age of 14, he’d mastered the tricky technique of macaronage.

His bakes combine precision with fun and often draw on his Nigerian heritage, including ingredients such as grains of paradise and groundnuts.

Away from baking and his university studies, Moyin is a competitive sprinter who has won the U20 County Championship in the 100m. He’s also a fashion and vinyl enthusiast who enjoys comedy clubs and a good matcha latte.

Mo, 21 — West Midlands

Law student

Mo describes himself as “chaotic and random” but is determined to make his family proud in the Bake Off tent.

His love of baking began at just three years old, when he would pretend to cook with Play-Doh. A few years later, a video about mug cakes sparked a genuine interest in baking, starting with boxed vanilla cake mixes before he progressed to more ambitious creations.

Mo enjoys combining Asian flavours with British classics and has developed a talent for precise, professional-looking bakes.

When he’s not studying law or baking, he spends his time lifting weights and working on his calisthenics.

Nikki, 50 — London

Advertising post-producer

Nikki started baking with her mum at seven and has always viewed it as a form of therapy.

Her colourful personality is reflected in her baking, with her kitchen soundtrack changing depending on what she’s making. Nostalgic R&B accompanies familiar favourites, while classical music helps create the calm needed for more experimental recipes.

Nikki loves feeding family and friends and has been with her “soul mate” Tom for 22 years. They have a 16-year-old daughter, Ava.

A former podium dancer at Basingstoke’s Ziggy’s Night Club in the 1990s, Nikki still enjoys heading to R&B clubs with her cousins. She’s also a keen theatre-goer and recently completed a 100-mile charity walk in aid of breast cancer.

Shannon, 29 — Gloucestershire

Project planner and scheduler

Shannon is hoping to bring a little “forest magic” to the Bake Off tent.

She grew up in Bristol but now lives in the Gloucestershire countryside with her fiancé Scott, two black Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Tyrone the tortoise.

Nature plays a major role in her life and her baking, with gardening, cooking with home-grown ingredients and long country walks among her favourite pastimes.

Shannon learned to bake from her Nan and describes her style as whimsical, quirky and rustic. Her job has given her a strong eye for organisation and timing — although she once rode a horse through a drive-thru, so she’s clearly no stranger to a little chaos.

Tom, 25 — West Yorkshire

Hairdresser

Tom is a self-proclaimed “Northern Diva” who likes his bakes to be witty, pretty and, above all, delicious.

His love of baking began with visits to his Nan’s house when he was six, and by the time he was 10 he’d mastered the perfect brandy snap.

Now working in a busy salon, Tom has a ready-made team of taste testers among his colleagues, who are particularly fond of his salted caramel brownies.

Outside work and baking, Tom loves travelling. He recently spent seven months exploring Southeast Asia with his boyfriend Alex, and the couple are now saving for a house together.

Yannis, 28 — London

Paediatric doctor

Yannis is bringing his love of baking from the hospital ward to the Bake Off tent.

Born in Vienna and raised in London from the age of 11, his baking has been influenced by several cultures. One of his earliest memories is making Bhapa Pitha with his grandmother, while his school years introduced him to Austrian classics.

Bake Off has a particularly special place in Yannis’ heart — he says watching the programme helped him learn English.

A doctor working in a busy neonatal intensive care unit, Yannis enjoys baking for colleagues and believes food can bring people together. Away from the kitchen, he’s also a Bhangra dancer, with his wedding shimmy having become something of a legend.

For Yannis, baking and medicine share one important quality: both are about caring for people.

When is The Great British Bake Off on tonight?

The Great British Bake Off series 17 starts tonight at 8pm on Channel 4, with the 12 new bakers facing their first challenge in Cake Week.

Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding return to the tent as hosts, while Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson are on hand to judge the contestants’ first creations.

More Bake Off news:

First Bake Off: Second Helpings guests confirmed.

Week Two theme revealed.

Nigella set to launch new book and series next year.

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