It’s time to prepare those oven mitts as The Great British Bake Off is back for another season.
Season 14 of Bake Off is right around the corner, with a host of new baking hopefuls arriving in the tent on 26 September.
After the departure of host Matt Lucas, there is now a new star ready to make their way onto our screens, and fans could not be happier.
Who will be hosting Bake Off this year?
In the final scene of The Great British Bake Off trailer, we see This Morning presenter, Alison Hammond, 48, with fellow host Noel Fielding and judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood – a scene that had many fans thrilled.
Back in March, Hammond shared her excitement with a video that showed a cake version of her, Fielding, Leith and Hollywood, in a mock Bake Off tent.
In the clip, she jokingly points to a figurine of herself and says: “Alison, have you got any words whatsoever?”
To which the cake topper figure “replies”: “Well, do you know what? I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m going to be meeting the bakers very soon. I’m joining The Great British Bake Off. I’m so very excited.”
“As you can see, all my colleagues are absolutely speechless,” she adds, as the camera pans past the silent figurines of the other Bake Off stars.
Hammond ends the video by saying: “We’re so very happy, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Alison Hammond— (ITV)
Hammond is a much-loved TV presenter and actor – first appearing on TV in 2002 as a contestant in Big Brother.
Her contagious laughter and charisma have seen her climb the TV ladder of success as she began presenting This Morning in 2003, a role that she has continued for 20 years.
She has also appeared in popular programmes such as Celebrity Masterchef, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.
Hammond will be joined by Fielding on Bake Off. Fielding first joined the show in 2017.
The 50-year-old comedian and actor is known for his work on Taskmaster, The Mighty Boosh, Disenchantment and more.
On Hammond joining the show, Fielding wrote on Instagram: “It gives me so much pleasure to welcome @alisonhammond55 into the tent. I’m absolutely pumped we are working together.
“We are gonna spend the whole time giggling like naughty school kids. The bakers are gonna love you to bits.”
Who are the judges?
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will reprise their roles as judges of this year’s Great British Bake Off.
Hollywood, 57, has been a judge on Bake Off since 2010.
Hollywood is the son of a baker and was originally trained as a sculptor until his father “persuaded him to change careers”.
After establishing himself in the baking world, Hollywood became a head baker and worked at some of the most exclusive hotels, including the Dorchester in London.
In 2004, he published his best-selling book 100 Great Breads and later presented his solo series Bread where he revealed his bread-making secrets from all over the world, and Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds for BBC One.
Hollywood’s British Baking came out in October 2014 and Weekend Baker launched in 2016. Hollywood is currently in production with his new C4 series A Baker’s Life.
Leith, 83, is another loved figure on The Great British Bake Off. She was originally a judge on BBC Two’s Great British Menu for 11 years, before joining The Great British Bake Off in March 2017, replacing Mary Berry.
She is known to be one of the country’s “foremost culinary experts” and has had a career as a restaurateur, caterer, food teacher, food writer, novelist, television cook and a radio cook on the Today programme.
Leith set up her own cookery school with students including Diana Henry, Lorraine Pascale and Gizzi Erskine.
Leith has also published 12 cookery books, seven novels and a biography called Relish: My Life on a Plate.
Before joining The Great British Bake Off, Prue was a judge on the BBC’s Great British Menu and C4’s My Kitchen Rules.
Who is in The Great British Bake Off line-up?
The contestants for season 14 have not yet been revealed.
Viewers usually find out who will be competing just a few weeks or days before.
