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.

Do you remember Sue Perkins leaning on the bench and putting her elbow in (I think) Howards buns! 😂

I felt the conversation flowed more naturally this week

Yes!! I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that, I thought the same last week too!

Mo reminds me of Rahul. He doesn't look at the camera ever which makes me feel nervous for him.

I think Nigella's descriptive language and understanding of the science of the bake has made the judging so enjoyable

Totally agree.
Another reason for the Technical rules being relaxed, the present cohort were not cast for their baking ability and are not as good as previous contestants.

The year John Thwaite won I read a comment from Shetland jumper James that they used to swear sometimes to ensure that they would be cut.

I thought this week's show felt much less awkward than the first episode. Danni had grown on me and I was just enjoying her happiness, but I don't think anyone else should have gone. Really didn't think Tom would (or should) get Star Baker - I was annoyed by his tears after Molly and Danni's resilience last week.

It’s a bit annoying as it’s meant to be a baking show but this group really do seem as though they were chosen to make good tv more than making good biscuits. The baking quality definitely lower this year. Remember Nadia’s peacock cake? It was amazing.

The rules may be very slightly relaxed but the technical challenges having a twist makes it much harder. So I reckon it balances out.

Glad Danni went, I’m not sure I could have kept watching if she was in it any longer. She was awful. Clearly not a good baker at all so I do wonder how the selection/audition process chose them

I've really liked Nigella as a judge (strange way of biting aside) - it feels like she genuinely enjoys it.

Danni was very much a marmite character, but I also feel like she was unfairly edited. They cut to her reactions multiple times which they didn't do with any other contestant.

There was something I couldn't put my finger on with Mo this week. I actually wondered if he'd taken something for nerves, but perhaps it was his reaction to the pressures of the tent.

Really didnt get on with Second Helpings. We loved the silliness of Extra slice even if it was formulaic. I quite like Jon Richardson and Judi Love but they weren't funny in this, it was all far too sensible, even with Harry Hill there for laughs. Also casting Jon (a vegan) on a show to talk about cake (nearly always non-vegan) is an odd choice. The bakers brought bakes in, and he was like 'oh I love salted caramel' but then obviously didn't eat any because it wasn't vegan.

It’s not that mysterious, surely. They cast for ‘stories’ and a wide variety of ‘types’ they think will appeal to their core demographic — so Danni would have been cast as ‘eccentric, cheery forager obsessed with vintage tech and whose cakes reflect both’ just as Nikki will have been cast as ‘bubbly-with-positivity former podium dancer’ or Tom as ‘self-proclaimed northern diva hairdresser’ or Gary as ‘Ronseal older man whose trad cakes do what it says on the tin’ etc.

But one gathers from previous contestants that the application and selection process is serious about baking. Ruby Tandoh describes several rounds of interviews with home economists with questions about specific aspects of baking technique, how to tell when a meringue was done, how to get a good crust on your loaf etc, before going on to screen tests and in-person baking trials.

So unless they’ve dumped those in recent seasons, they’re still casting people who are experienced bakers who got through a long selection process, and whom they believe can theoretically bake well in the tent, and who have submitted their recipes in advance. But who then sometimes mess up on the day.

It might be. Like he was slower to react!

i have had it on in the background and find it very easy to listen to - but wouldn't sit down to watch it. I did see that Danni got a picture of her bake instead of a model cake and thought they should have stuck with the cake. Very much less impressive. But presumably cheaper.

That's another thing Ruby Tandoh said, that she and Frances (who won her season) were so nervous they were continually necking some kind of anti-anxiety lozenges as they travelled to the tent. Maybe everyone's on beta-blockers/Diazepam?

Just place marking. I've come back to Bake Off this year as I do love Nigella. I would rate her cook book How To Eat as one of my most prized possessions and infact one of the best books I've ever read.

I never bake and I barely eat cakes or biscuits, but somehow this show gets me hooked once I watch a couple of episodes in a series.

Rather shallowly, I'm finding myself very distracted by the awfulness of Alison Hammond's makeup. But we're not here to talk about that!

I agree.
To me an American cookie is like a Ben's Cookies one – large, fairly simple flavours, definitely not decorated.

Yes!

I thought Connie was robbed too, although I do like Tom.
Danni was so sweet, so gracious and full of praise for the others, and seemed to be genuinely touched by the friendships she'd made. I really liked her showstopper; not the execution but the idea. It was a full-on concept.
Mo is either a bit rude or extremely shy and awkward, I think.
I loved Shannon; she was on hilarious form this week.
Loved Nigella too.

Danni can’t bake well though, that’s the point. I’m a decent ish home baker, not stellar by any means, but I would be sure I would be better than her. She seemed to have zero prowess whatsoever.

Yeah but...have you applied? Honestly, the pressure is insane and you have no idea whether you'd be any better unless you've been through it.

Oh god poor Danni, I really felt for her.
I thought the concept for her bake was really great. She was really nervous and really trying so hard socially make it all work and to be upbeat. I would absolutely hate to go on GBBO and have to bake under stress while being expected to make quick bants type small talk and jokes with those presenters on camera. I can’t think of anything stressful , and I’m pretty sure I’m NT.
Lots of people bake to relax or be creative and she may be someone like that. It’s very different what the show requires of the bakers.

I loved her concept too. She's very bright and a really original mind, I think.
TBF, they go through extensive interviews, auditions and screen tests etc. If she and/or the production team had felt at any time that she couldn't handle it, or if she just decided she'd rather drop out and just go on baking to relax or be creative (if indeed she does), she could have done so.

Yes, she’s so wonderfully articulate! Her vocabulary is excellent - I could happily listen to her word choices to describe things all day. Plus I’m enjoying her very positive attitude to food and the pleasure of eating it. I think she’s stealing the show from Paul very satisfactorily. The contestants are all desperate for her praise over his.

I love how she told Paul off for associating naughty with food!