August 5 sees the highly anticipated return of hit BBC1 show The Great British Bake Off.
Returning to the show are judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, and presenting duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Teenage contestant Flora, represents the Scottish contingent.
Hailing from Perthshire, her harshest critics are her two younger sisters. She’s about to start a degree in history of art, and is currently working as an assistant in a contemporary art gallery.
A former member of Buckingham Palace’s Coldstream Guards is among the contestants for the show’s sixth series.
Forty-nine-year-old Paul, from Wales, has been a prison governor for eight years but previously performed ceremonial duties at the Palace.
He said the show is “an opportunity to show that men like me, stereotyped by our jobs, do and can love baking and that it is a skill and talent to be proud of”.
The Last year’s winner, Nancy Birtwhistle, had an impressive 13.5 million viewers tune in to see her take the crown.
Here’s the rest of the contestants:
:: Stu, 35, Surrey
A professional musician who is trading his microphone for a wooden spoon. He has been baking since a young age, and his love of cooking was spurred on by watching his parents in the kitchen of the restaurant they owned. He said he loves “how something liquid could go in and out would come this fluffed up awesomeness”.
:: Ian, 41, Cambridgeshire
He is not just a whizz in the kitchen but is a renowned travel photographer and is the Dalai Lama’s personal photographer when he is in the UK. Ian, who reckons he has become a bit of a house husband in the past few years, started baking six years ago because he wanted his children to have fresh bread to eat.
:: Nadiya, 30, Leeds
Her family is originally from Bangladesh, and Nadiya was encouraged to bake by a school home economics teacher. She was born in Luton but lives in Leeds with her husband where she is a full-time mother to three children. She now wants to “have her own adventure” and make her family proud with her baking.
:: Mat, 37, London
Things might sizzle in the kitchen, but London firefighter Mat can handle the heat. He started baking between his firefighting shifts three years ago and counts cakes, biscuits, breads and pastries among his skill set. He said he is a “competent amateur” who “learns every time he bakes”.
:: Alvin, 37, Berkshire
A nurse from Berkshire who is originally from the Philippines, Alvin’s two children are going to inherit the many recipes and techniques he is always scribbling down. He started his baking quest seven years ago and now bakes at least four times a week. He is determined too, and revealed he once baked bread every single day for three weeks until he thought he had “got it right”.
:: Dorret, 53, Preston
An accountant whose family are from the West Indies, Dorret – who grew up in Preston – is a baking pro. She has been baking for 40 years and regularly visits Michelin star restaurants with her husband. Her big dream is to attend the Cordon Bleu school in Paris.
:: Ugne, 32, Lithuania
A bodybuilder whose hobby is baking, Ugne lives in Essex with her bodybuilder partner and is a PA and administrator. She has learned her baking skills from her mother and grandmother, who passed on their Eastern European skills. She is a fan of English methods, but also tries to include traditional Lithuanian flavours.
:: Marie, 66, Paris
Her daughter entered her into the competition, and she has upped her baking ante considerably as her children say that growing up “mum couldn’t even boil an egg”. A move to Paris in her thirties was all Marie needed and she is now a passionate baker.
:: Sandy, 49, Bradford
Child welfare officer Sandy, who lives and works near Bradford, says baking is her way of showing her close friends and family that she “cares about them”. She thinks her style and description of herself are unanimous, saying “it might not be glamorous but it’s tasty”. When she is not being a guiding light to younger people, she is volunteering at a school, where she runs a cooking club teaching children from deprived backgrounds to bake on a small budget.
:: Tamal, 29, Manchester
A trainee anaesthetist working in Manchester, he credits his older sister for his love of baking. She even asked him to do the honours and make her wedding cake. He now regularly whips up cakes for family and friends, and includes an impressive five-tier creation among his works.