Great British Bake Off Returns with 12 Contestants, New Challenges, First Episode Airs

The 2025 series of The Great British Bake Off features 12 contestants, including Iain Ross, a 29-year-old baker from Belfast who has gained fame for painting musicians' faces and album covers on his bread using edible coloring, amassing over 400k TikTok followers. Iain, who started baking in his early 20s after completing a software engineering degree, shared that his Bake Off experience has been "chaotic," and footage from the first episode shows him struggling to mend a chocolate cake that fell apart during a challenge. Another contestant, Leighton, a 59-year-old software delivery manager originally from Swansea, brings a mix of traditional Welsh, British, and American flavors to the show, emphasizing his journey of defying stereotypes about male bakers. The series opens with particularly tough challenges for the bakers, including a technical challenge with no recipe and misleading ingredients, intensifying the pressure on first-time competitors. Additionally, former Bake Off contestant Ruby Tandoh revealed how producers behind the scenes would deliberately provoke contestants to capture vulnerable and dramatic moments, highlighting the emotional intensity and reality TV dynamics within the famed white tent. The series returns tonight on Channel 4 with hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.