The Bake Is Back - the countdown to Great British Bake Off 2026 starts here

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Trailer for the new series just dropped - no transmission date yet though.

Anyone else excited to see how Nigella gets on as the new judge? A worthy successor to Pru and Mary, I think.

She was also insulting and rude about people who watch it and go on it. She said cake is readily available in the shops and she didn't understand it.
Snooty, ill-mannered woman.

There seems to be a deep, innate sadness about Mo. I can't quite put my finger on it; but I sensed that he seemed troubled.
YES! It's been bugging me what it was about him and this is it. He's lovely, sweet, funny, but there is something a bit dark, isn't there?
Or possibly he's just young and a bit awkward/self-conscious about it all.
Anyway, he's a fantastically good baker. His showstopper was beautiful.

I liked Nigella, although she was a bit nervous. Still liking Alison and, most of the time, Noel, apart from when he gets too wacky. Paul is a bit befuddled by Nigella, I think, but I do feel like they get on.

Mo is my runaway fave at the minute. I also like Gary, just getting on with it, Molly – what a problem-solver after the dropped cake – Clara, and young gay man (Tom?).

Those are my favourites too. I quite liked Yannis as well. Shannon and Clara are a bit grating. Tom seems funny and sweet - he had two (mercifully still living) nannas in his 'home life' clip. My early money is on Gary or Mo to win, Mo more likely. I think he's the Dylan of the Day. Too early to say though, really.

Friday would have been Extra Slice day... 😢

Pretty sure a disability is not why she calls a cake "she". Very very annoying and silly

Nigella started doing it too. I don't know if she was just humouring her or if she does it anyway.
I call all my houseplants he or she. I got it from my neighbour whose plants I water while she's away. I've since found that at least one friend does it too. I think giving cakes a sex is pushing it though.

I liked Clara, actually. Shannon not so much, but maybe she'll grow on me.
I'd forgotten about Dylan!

I’ve never come across Sticky Willie. We grew up calling it ‘sticky back’, but I’ve heard other people referring to it as ‘hitchhiker grass’, ‘whippysticks’ and ‘ Velcro plant’!

Stickyweed when I was a kid, which is quite prosaic

I watched on catch up yday

My 2p worth
I felt like Nigella fitted in well I think she looked awkward eating the cake but it might have been that she was self conscious about eating , being filmed close up.
I love Alison, she is humorous and warm, and gels with contestants. Matt Lucas seemed like he wasnt invested in baking, ingredients or the contestants.
I found Danni annoying but there are usually one or 2 annoying ones (we still refer to "smug David" from several series ago! 🤭 who i dont even think was particularly smug but the editing made it seem that way )
Mo seems really shy and awkward, but a brilliant baker. He gets extra points for having a cat.

I also really like Tom, and hes very good, but will lose points (from me) if there are too many nan stories.

I also liked Molly and liked that Nigella gave her kudos for recovering the cake. The knitting effect looked great.

Gary seemed good, but I was 🤨 at Paul complaining he used the same piping method

I prefer the later weeks when a few weaker bakers have been eliminated, and you feel like you get to know a smaller number of contestants.

I love Nigella she is very intelligent woman and she knows so much about food and cake was how she initially made her name in cookbooks and became the Donestic Goddess - I just hope she still gets to be herself as a presenter on the show. Hollywood is egotistical and Allison and Noel are like the kids messing about for attention in class. They’re embarrassingulu keen to generate a viral moment- like Noel saying [pin drop pause] ‘DID YOU JUSY SAY INDEEDEROONIE?!’. It’s obviously an instruction from the producers.

I watched it specially to see Nigella and willl watch again to see her. I have to say this though I was really worried about how casually the thoughtless ableism on the show went on. I’ve said this elsewhere but I was gutted for the woman who used the wheelchair. Gutted again how everyone let her say she was just going to be positive after this shit thing happened. As if it was just random chance.
I would have had a massive word with channel 4 and the production company over this, had this been me in her situation.
If an oven door tips down past the horizontal level such that burning hot food can just slide out- which she had already commented on- and if you are a wheelchair user and can’t quickly move your legs out of the way of burning hot food topping out of a burning hot oven , then that’s bloody dangerous. So I hope she sues them so that people running shows will think more carefully about putting in equal safety needs for disabled people.

@Fortuity I think it might have been Nikki- very sensible attitude

Full disclosure : mum of teens with ASD, socially awkward.

Danni. What exactly is the annoying thing about her? There is something. But I can’t put my finger on it and I feel the same about one of my kids sometimes too. But I try and explain to him and can’t.

We watched it together last night and I said to him that there’s no way I’d let him go on anything as exposing as this because the backlash/criticism will be colossal and he doesn’t have the ability to understand it. And then I realised I don’t understand it either but it’s definitely there.

And amusingly to me anyway, my teen said “she can’t bake. Did she get on this because of her EHCP?” Totally deadpan.

Mum of ASDers here too.
Danny it's the over enthusiasm try too hard to look cool and have attention. The I'm tired comment waa rude and my kids wouod have been taken aside and that explained to them.
The over enthusiasm at others getting good comments was totally OTT - she was practically rocking at one point.
Its jist not 'normal' behaviour and makes other people feel really uncomfortable.

I try with my kids all the time but you can tell from a mile off they are socially very awkward 🫣...they are lovely though and kind hearted and probably Danni is too.

Yes that’s it. They’re out of step somehow. An unpredictability which is unnerving. One of my sons cuts across people in conversations and I always call it out in a kind way. I did it once and my mum said “it’s rude to tell him like that.” I said it’s more helpful than him being wrong footed.

i also think that the advice to “always be the authentic you” is bullshit.

We call it Goose Grass.

Well I find Nigella pretty silly too so it doesn't surprise me that she would call a cake "she" at all. So are all cakes "she" or will we have a "he" in future episodes?

Houseplants doesn't seem anywhere near as silly to me but, having said that, I have around 200 of them and don't call any of them he or she

We caught up with episode one last night, I enjoyed it.

I thought nigella was nervous, and incredibly awkward eating the cakes. But they kept filming thay in close up but didn’t to Paul, I’ve no idea why, I felt it was edited to make her look bad. Even my husband commented they seemed to be continually showing close ups of Nigella putting food in her mouth but not Paul.

if I was her I’d be telling them to re edit.

i am always surprised when people remember all the names after one episode. But I felt there were a couple of participants who are ND, the lawyer guy with the great cake at the end and the indeedaroonie lady who had the two really bad bakes. The lawyer guy I felt was very capable baker, but the lady I was not sure she was. We will need to wait and see, but she seemed well below the skill level of the others. Maybe it was just a bad week.

there are also a couple of clearly excellent bakers in there, the middle aged guy rhey said looked like Paul for example. And I really liked the hairdresser Tom. He’s pretty much the only name I remember. As he reminds me of my friends son.

i immediately thought nigella had had a face lift, and looked older than she was. But then I googled and she’s 66, so looks fab for her age. But she was nervous and hope she settles down. Pru did it with an easy humour. But even she was awkward at the eating bit some times.

nigella looked like a deer in the headlights. I wondered if she is actually quite reserved in real life. She’s not an extrovert like thr others.

But Danni is an adult. if your child wanted to go on a TV programme as an adult, you could advise him against it, but ultimately it's his call, surely? And I agree with you about the backlash/unpleasant online criticism.

I'd hope they'll have some 'he' cakes, for balance!
I only caught the houseplant thing off my neighbour, who seems to use it completely genuinely, but I can't stop doing it now.

PS 200 houseplants? Your house must look amazing.

I think the close up thing is because there is a genuine sensuality about Nigella. She is obviously very beautiful, but in her other programmes has always been very in touch with how things taste, smell, texture etc and she genuinely comes across as someone you can vicariously enjoy the food with. It's the language she uses to describe it, and the tone in her voice. Paul somehow not so much, even though he clearly likes eating baking. It's somehow like it goes in, there's a moment's pause and out comes a verdict. Other than what he says, there isn't much to connect with. It's almost like feeding food into a calorimeter: it goes in and you get an answer. Which is fine, that's his style, and it can make the verdict more interesting.

Also, even before bake-off, I thought of Nigella as someone who was always licking a spoon. I love the way she clearly loves food ... and her great big mouthfuls.

I think Paul and Nigella will settle into being a great combo.

For now, though, Noel and Alison are much-needed for the glue to bring those personalities together. Loved it when Noel said "There goes Salt and Sugar."

I wondered if she is actually quite reserved in real life.
I've always imagined that she is.

I feel quite certain of it. And she was obviously a bit nervous. A couple of times I saw her adjusting her posture in a self-conscious way.

But that's a super normal response to being on such a loved TV programme for the first time.

Which is also why I think the overly-critical comments about Danni are really unfair. And for those saying oh well, people were rude about Pru's jewellery etc, it is disingenuous to liken a limited critique of a superficial stylistic quirk of a well-respected and self-assured lady to the complete denigration of a young and obviously slightly nervous contestant as being so repellently annoying they would put you off watching. Give her a break. As someone said upthread, people get intimidated by responses that are not the norm. About time we learnt a bit more acceptance and didn't get so easily squeamish about a harmless deviation from tedious old "normal."

I’m not sure there is no way the producers couldn’t see she was awkward, Christ most people spotted it immediately, there was nothing sensual about it, so why keep doing it, she was hardly seductively licking a spoon or eating big mouthfuls with relish, she was awkwardly and nervously eating,

im also surprised at the very beautiful comment, she’s attractive, looks great for her age, clearly had work done, but a great beauty, I can’t see it.