Great British Bake Off 2020 line-up: Sculptor, pantomime producer and uni student among 12 hopefuls

The line-up of home-bakers competing in the eleventh season of The Great British Bake Off has been revealed.

A sculptor, a pantomime producer and a university student are among the 12 amateur bakers taking part in this year’s contest.

The series will begin next week after initially being delayed as a result of coronavirus.

Here are all our hopefuls taking part in the brand new series.

Marc

Age: 51

Lives: Cornwall

Occupation: Bronze resin sculptor

Marc began baking after he lost his leg in a motorbike accident in 2016.

He started making bread as a form of therapy and later progressed to baking cakes and pastries.

Peter

Age: 20

Lives: Edinburgh

Occupation: Student

Student Peter was inspired by Bake Off to start cooking for himself.

The accounting and finance student, who has also represented his country at badminton, has been baking since he was 12 and has seen every series of the programme.

Lottie

Age: 31

Lives: West Sussex

Job: Pantomime producer

Lottie has labelled herself a “perpetually frustrated perfectionist” and has had a fascination with cooking since childhood.

Makbul

Age: 51

Lives: Great Manchester

Occupation: Beekeeper

Self-taught baker Makbul initially began cooking at home as a way of supporting his mother.

The accountant also does beekeeping in his spare time and produces his own honey, which he uses in his bakes.

Dave

Age: 30

From: Hampshire

Occupation: Armoured Guard

Having learned to bake after leaving home, Dave likes to cook up a storm once a week to the soundtrack of some of his favourite punk rock bands.

Hermine

Age: 39

Lives: London

Occupation: Accountant

Born and raised in Benin, West Africa, Hermine moved to London in 2001 for her further studies. She grew up helping her mum bake for family gatherings, and has been baking solo since she was eight-years-old.

Laura

Age: 31

Lives: Kent

Occupation: Digital Manager

Laura has been baking since she was eight, but has only just realised her flair for it within the last few years. She claims she works well under pressure, and loves to update classic bakes with exciting new twists.

Linda

Age: 61

Lives: East Sussex

Occupation: Retirement Living Team Leader

Having grown up helping her aunt on her farm, Linda learned how to bake with fresh produce – something she still favours til this day. She considers her strengths to be in more traditional bakes, with her signature being sausage rolls.

Loriea

Age: 27

Lives: Durham

Occupation: Diagnostic Radiographer

Loriea moved to the UK from her home in Jamaica when she was 15, but uses baking as a way to celebrate her heritage. She favours strong flavours in her food and rarely follows a recipe exactly, preferring to tweak it to fit her own tastes.

Mark

Age: 32

Lives: Liverpool

Occupation: Project Manager

Mark fell in love with baking after visiting a pie shop in Edinburgh which did a very specific and unique dish: mac ‘n’ cheese pie. From then on in, he has gone on to perfect a simple lemon drizzle to taking on multi-tiered wedding cakes.

Rowan

Age: 55

Lives: Worcestershire

Occupation: Music teacher

Rowan’s favoured style of baking is French patisserie, describing his cakes as ostentatious but tasteful. His love of the Georgian era also sees Rowan often try to recreate complicated 18th century bakes in his spare time.

Sura

Age: 31

Lives: London

Occupation: Pharmacy Dispenser

Sura grew up by family, who valued food as a means to show affection, love and respect. With a number of influences in her heritage, Sura enjoys experimenting with flavours all around the world, and likes to deviate from traditional recipes to put her own twist on things.

The new series will begin on Channel 4 on September 22 at 8pm.

This year’s contest sees comedian Matt Lucas replace Sandi Toksvig as the programme’s co-host alongside Noel Fielding.

Production of the series was initially delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, filming of the programme finished near the end of August.

Channel 4 executive Kelly Webb Lamb has previously said the programme will look the same as it normally does.

Speaking during this year’s virtual Edinburgh Television Festival, she said the cast and crew had been living and filming “in a bubble” and adhering to stringent health and safety measures.