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The Great British Bake Off 2024 cast has been announced, so grab your aprons and grab your rolling pins!
Is anything really more British than Bake Off? Over the years, the Channel 4 reality show has become a hallmark of British culture — in fact, it could easily fit into Hugh Grant's corny speech about British-ness in Love Actually. (Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter, David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that. And, yes, Bake Off!)
Since its inception in 2010, The Great British Bake Off has become a staple of our weekly schedule. The show sees a group of amateur bakers meeting in a pastel-coloured tent to take on baking challenges for judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith until one baker is crowned the winner. It's delightful, charming and usually pretty silly.
As the days begin to shorten and the sky gets a little greyer, a new season of Bake Off couldn't come at a better time. So, as we all prepare to head to the sugary sweet world of the Bake Off tent (tonight!), let's meet the Great British Bake Off 2024 contestants.
The iconic white tent is back to see contestants through the inevitable cake chaos and bread week breakdowns.
Age: 44
From: Slovakia
Job: Palliative care assistant
Based in Dorset, Nelly works night shifts in palliative care and is also a mother to two young boys. After growing up in Slovakia, where her father was an avid bread baker, Nelly studied nursing in Austria. She discovered sweet baking as an adult and taught herself to infuse Slovakian principles and flavours into her creations, along with Pakistani flavours inspired by her husband, Chand's, heritage.
Age: 44
From: Essex
Job: Car mechanic
Andy grew up baking with his mother. Now a car mechanic in Essex, Andy loves to bake for his partner, Nickie, and his daughter, Maisie. The family love to travel in their motorhome. "Only in my wildest dreams I imagined being in the big white tent," he said to Radio Times. "It was such a dream to finally get to be a part of this wonderful show."
ge: 29
From: Wiltshire
Job: Farm manager
Mike took up the family business of farming, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. This year, he was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year at the 2024 National Arable and Grassland Awards. He is a proud advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and brings awareness about the community to the world of farming. In 2022, he was an ambassador for the National Farmers Union in 2022. Mike likes “homely and wholesome” baking and tries to use local ingredients, seasonal fruits and even edible flowers from his own garden. He is currently planning his wedding to his partner Matt — and he'll be growing flowers for the ceremony and making his own wedding cake.
"So many of my friends have said for years that I should apply, and my fiancé Matt and I have always spoken about how incredible it would be, but it’s always been in a sort of dreamy way, like talking of the things you’d buy if you won the lottery," he said to Radio Times. "You never actually believe that it will happen!"
Age: 33
From: The Netherlands
Job: Menswear designer
Christiaan hails from the small town of Emmen in The Netherlands. He moved to Amsterdam and later to London where he now works for a major fashion brand. His career in fashion has taught him to approach baking with an eye for presentation. When he's not designing clothes or cakes, you can find him at one of London's galleries or possibly exploring a stately home.
Age: 20
From: Buckinghamshire
Job: Retail temp
Dylan comes to the Bake Off tent after taking a gap year exploring Southeast Asia. His love of travel and of exploring new cultures inspires his baking, which draws from Japanese, Belgian and French traditions.
As Dylan told Radio Times, being cast in Bake Off was a dream come true. “I was in the car with my mum, we were driving to my grandma's to celebrate her birthday. I was happy, I didn't really register it, my mum was super happy, the crew could hear her cry out.”
Age: 53
From: Lancashire
Job: Senior category manager
Gill has been baking — well — forever. Or at least for as long as she can remember. She grew up baking with her father and, when he passed away in 2015, she returned to baking and even used it to raise money for a number of Alzheimer’s charities in his memory. She was also the UK's youngest ever driving instructor when she was just 21.
Age: 37
From: West Midlands
Job: Directorate support manager
John worked as a hairdresser and an estate agent before finding his calling as a directorate support manager in the NHS. He learned to bake from his nan and is now passing on his skills to his nephews. When he's not baking, you'll find him relaxing at home or taking a long walk with his cavapoo, Stanley. His favourite thing to make? A lemon tart.
Age: 19
From: Lancashire
Job: Dentistry student
The youngest baker this year, Sumayah is a 19-year-old student who is currently taking a gap year before she studies dentistry. She is a self-taught baker who loves to experiment and add modern techniques and flavours to her bakes. Her finest work was a one-metre tall macaron tower she made for her aunt's mehndi wedding celebration. She lives with her family in Lancashire and, in addition to baking, loves to make her own clothes and practice photography.
Age: 71
From: Kent
Job: Former nail technician
Hazel is a former nail technician who has been married to her childhood sweetheart for 51 years. She has a big family — four children and ten grandchildren. A super inventive baker, Hazel loves to add mechanical parts to her creations. She has even made several ‘car’ cakes complete with remote-controlled moving steering wheels and lights.
At first, Hazel was nervous to bake on camera. “The thought of it was frightening, but as you started baking, you seem to forget everything else around you, especially in my case! You do get used to them, but at the same time can be easily distracted by them,” she confessed to Radio Times of the Bake Off cameras.
Age: 67
From: New York
Job: Former university lecturer
Jeff hails from the Bronx in New York, but moved to the UK with his wife in 1979. The pair had met while she was visiting America for a hitchhiking road trip. They are now based in Yorkshire. Jeff began baking for his children when they were young, inspired by his grandmother and great-grandmother, who had taught him as a child. Jeff is also incredibly active, and loves to swim, go to the gym and take long walks.
Age: 31
From: Norfolk
Job: Birth trauma specialist midwife
Illiyin grew up in Norfolk with her seven siblings and loved to bake for the family as a child. She infuses a myriad of different cultural influences into her food, including Middle Eastern ingredients and the flavours of the Caribbean. She works as a freelance midwife and lives with her husband and two children, as well as her sister and nieces. Of meeting the judges, she said, “I was a little starstruck when I first met them having watched both of them for years. I think I was probably a little bit like a goldfish with my mouth opening and closing and no noise coming out!”
Age: 34
From: Carmarthenshire
Job: Paediatric nurse
Inspired to bake by her Nonna Rosa, Georgie's bakes are filled with Italian influences. She also takes inspiration from the natural world. A forager, Georgie loves to use ingredients from her garden and from her country walks. She lives in Wales in a farmhouse with her husband and three children — as well as ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat. While she's baking, she loves to sing a show tune or two — especially The Phantom of the Opera. Whether she busts out any Andrew Lloyd Webber on the show, we'll have to wait and see.
Bake Off season is upon us!
