Great British Bake Off 2020: Meet this year’s contestants competing under new coronavirus rules
15 September 2020, 10:43 | Updated: 15 September 2020, 10:50
Who is in the Great British Bake Off line up 2020? Here's the full list of contestants...
The Great British Bake Off is finally back on our screens, but this year there will be a few differences.
The contestants all created a bubble in Essex hotel Down Hall, where the cast, crew, judges, staff and cleaners, all quarantined together for six weeks.
Judge Prue Leith, 80, said this means the programme will look and feel ‘normal’, and Paul Hollywood will even be allowed to give his famous hand shake.
Prue said: “Honestly, I ended up thinking this is the safest place in the whole of England.
Read More: The Great British Bake Off confirm they have finished filming new series
"All 130 people, which included the hotel staff... we all had been tested to death.
"So when we were in the tent, we were allowed to behave absolutely freely.”
Noel Fielding will also be returning as host of the show, while Matt Lucas is replacing Sandi Toksvig after she quit earlier this year.
So, ahead of the new series, here’s the full line up of The Great British Bake Off.
Meet the Bake Off contestants:
Dave
Security guard Dave is 30-years-old and lives in Hampshire with his girlfriend.
He learned to bake as an adult, saying: "My strengths are the ability to learn from mistakes, take criticism and use it to improve. I am incredibly determined and see the positive in every situation,”
Laura
31-year-old digital manager Laura specialises in decoration and loves making piped buttercream flowers.
Hermine
Having moved from Benin, West Africa to London in 2001, 39-year-old Hermine is now an accountant.
She loves high-end patisserie and says: “My weakness is the ability to get a clean, neat finish under time pressure.”
Linda
Team leader Linda, 61, learned to bake cakes at her aunt’s dairy farm when she was a child.
She says: “It’s never too late to chase your dreams.”
Loriea
Loriea is a 27-year-old radiographer who was born and raised in Jamaica.
She moved to the UK at 15 and now her baking is inspired by her Caribbean roots.
“My weakness lies in my inability to follow a recipe without having to put my own twist in,” she said.
Lottie
Pantomime producer Lottie, 31, says she gets her baking flair from her Lancastrian great-grandmother.
Describing herself as a perfectionist, she says: “Coming out of lockdown into another lockdown was weird – that first morning was utterly terrifying.”
Makbul
Another accountant in the line up, 51-year-old Makbul is a totally self-taught baker from Manchester.
He says: “My biggest weakness is the mess I create!”
Marc
Leicester-born Marc, 51, decided to join the line up to show his daughters that you can do anything in life.
He lost his leg in a motorbike accident four years ago, and started baking as therapy.
The bronze resin sculptor says: "My strengths are definitely bread and any dough based recipes."
Mark
Mark loves channeling his Irish heritage in his baking, but also likes the flavours of Africa and Asia where he travels regularly for his work.
The 32-year-old project manager says: "I think I am quite a versatile baker and always up for a challenge."
Peter
20-year-old Peter started baking at the age of 12 and loves to bake with Scottish ingredients.
The finance student says: “My weaknesses are artistic decoration and bread baking.”
Rowan
Music teacher Rowan, 55, is inspired by 18th-century Georgian recipes.
He says: “My weakness is over-ambition and no interest in timings.”
Sura
Sura, 31, is inspired by Middle Eastern and Asian flavours and loves trying out new things.
The pharmacy dispenser from London says she loves judge Prue Leith, admitting: “She inspired a lot of my baking in my early 20s.”
The Great British Bake Off is back on Channel 4 on September 22, 2020.
