A paediatric doctor and a drag king are among the 12 new amateur contestants heading into the tent for the upcoming series of the Great British Bake Off. The popular Channel 4 baking competition is scheduled to return to television screens later this month, where the line-up will be put through their paces in a quest to be crowned 2026 champion. The bakers will be evaluated by TV cook Nigella Lawson, who was announced earlier this year as a judge following Dame Prue Leith's decision to step down after nine series.
TV cook Paul Hollywood also returns to the panel, alongside Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, who reprise their roles as the show's presenters. Hailing from Aveiro in Portugal, the marketing graduate who lives in Hertfordshire began baking cakes two years ago as a creative outlet, starting off with Portuguese classics such as the Tarte de Nata. She loves creating colourful designs that balance fresh and fruity flavours in a baking style she would describe as “messy, creative and mindful”.
Known as ‘the cake lady’, Connie, an NHS hospital discharge lead who lives in London, has been a passionate baker for her whole life, using it as a way to unwind after a busy day. Along with working in the NHS she also runs a music centre in London with her husband Myke where she will try out her new recipes on the students. New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial.
Plan auto-renews until cancelled. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Her baking style is “adventurous, fun and nostalgic” and she is best known for making treats flavoured with rum fruit, lemon or lavender, adding that she always keeps a jar of fruit soaking in rum, wine and cinnamon.
The Dorset-based HGV service centre administrator often explores flavours through their baking, often using foraged finds such as magnolia, chestnut and dandelion and combining them with something such as ube/purple yam or red bean paste. The tech enthusiast said their baking style is “chaos, chaos, chaos” and they often take inspiration from video games and animation. Described as the “daddy of Birmingham drag”, Gabe is costume designer and produces theatre shows and performs under the drag king stage name of Blu Romantic.
Their baking journey began aged 13 after watching the first series of Bake Off and they love making meringue along with more savoury, meat-filled bakes. Raised in Grimsby, they now live in the West Midlands with partners Ellis and Tyler and their two sausage dogs, Dill and Sage. Gary, a retired garment technologist, discovered baking later in life after buying his first cookbook five years ago.
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