The greatest comfort TV show — and apparently, one of the best Netflix shows to fall asleep to — is back this fall. “The Great British Baking Show” (better known as “The Great British Bake Off” in the U.K.) returns this week and promises to be more dramatic than ever.
In anticipation of the season 15 premiere, an anonymous inside source told The Mirror that one baker was forced to leave the Tent before the first episode finished filming. The baker, who took part in the opening challenge, later dropped out of the competition due to illness. Host Alison Hammond said the baker would be missing from the rest of the episode, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be out for good. The baker will return next week in episode two.
“The baker was gutted to miss out on second day but they weren't feeling up to it and so they had to sit it out,” a spokesperson for the show said.
The new season also makes history with one of the earliest signature handshakes from Paul Hollywood. The super-rare achievement is seen only minutes into the first episode. As for which baker is the lucky recipient, we’ll keep that a secret for now…
Here’s everything you need to know about the new season of “Bake Off.”
When does the new season premiere?
Season 15 (or Collection 12) of “Bake Off” is slated to air in the U.S. on Sept. 27. New episodes will be released every week on Friday.
How can US viewers watch “Bake Off”?
The series will be available exclusively on Netflix. Seasons five through 11 are also available to watch on the streaming service.
Who is hosting?
Comedian and actor Noel Fielding along with TV presenter Alison Hammond will reprise their roles as co-hosts.
Who is judging?
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will also reprise their roles as judges.
What do we know about the contestants?
The new lineup includes 12 amateur bakers of varying professions, including a farm manager, menswear designer and birth trauma specialist midwife. There’s Nelly, a 44-year-old palliative care assistant from Slovakia; Andy, a 44-year-old car mechanic from Essex; Mike, a 29-year-old farm manager from Wiltshire; Christiaan, a 33-year-old menswear designer from the Netherlands; Dylan, a 20-year-old retail temp from Buckinghamshire; Gill, a 53-year-old senior category manager from Lancashire; John, a 37-year-old directorate support manager from West Midlands; Sumayah, a 19-year-old dentistry student from Lancashire; Hazel, a 71-year-old former nail technician from Kent; Jeff, a former university professor from New York City; Illiyin, a 31-year-old birth trauma specialist midwife from Norfolk and Georgie, a 34-year-old pediatric nurse from Carmarthenshire.
What do we know about the challenges?
“Bake Off” will no longer have nationality-themed challenge weeks, which were officially nixed in anticipation of Season 14 over racism accusations. “I hold my hands up to the cooking complaint and the theme weeks,” the show's executive producer Kieran Smith told The Guardian. “We didn't want to offend anyone but the world has changed and the joke fell flat. We're not doing any national themes this year.”
Smith said the show will focus on “very traditional” challenges and themes, including cakes, biscuits, bread, patisserie, chocolate, and party cakes.
Several U.K. outlets revealed that the new season features its first-ever “taste and bake” challenge. “Each week the bakers will face a gingham-clad secret second challenge but this time there's an extra surprise awaiting them,” said Hammond, per The Mirror. Bakers will be given five minutes first to inspect and “taste” their cakes. They will then recreate it without a recipe.
This season may also feature cameos from Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively (although nothing has been confirmed at this time). Hollywood confirms in the first episode that Reynolds and his “Deadpool & Wolverine” co-star Hugh Jackman were seen filming their latest blockbuster outside the Tent.
“Ryan was over the moon — he did a photograph with Prue and I outside and then he phoned up his wife Blake who I Zoom called and said ‘hello’ and it just went black,” Hollywood says, adding that Reynolds told him that Lively was already on her way to the U.K. to visit the tent and meet the bakers.
As for what other surprises are in store, only time in the tent will tell.
