Can you remember all of The Great British Bake Off winners?
When The Great British Bake Off, or The Great British Baking Show as it is called in the US, was launched back in 2010, no one could predict the phenomenon it would become.
Season one saw ten amateur bakers whipping up culinary delights in a makeshift kitchen in a tent, nervously delivering their baking delights to the judges each week in a bid to be crowned Star Baker. But, fast forward more than a decade, and that iconic white tent and Union Jack bunting instantly tells us that we are about to witness some of the most inspiring baking ever seen on TV... oh, and some total kitchen disasters, too.
The show has been aired on both the BBC and Channel 4, with judge Paul Hollywood being the only one to make the move across the channels. After the show moved to Channel 4 in 2017, British icon Mary Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins bowed out of the show, with Prue Leith joining Paul on the judging panel, while Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig took over the presenting roles. Matt Lucas then joined Noel on the hosting team, before stepping down after The Great British Bake Off 2022, and now we have much-loved This Morning host Alison Hammond joining Noel for The Great British Bake Off 2023.
The Great British Bake Off is now shown in the US as well, originally airing on PBS and now Netflix, bringing the quintessential charm of British baking at its best across the Atlantic.
Can you remember all thirteen Great British Bake Off winners?
2023 - Matty Edgell
Teacher Matty Edgell, from Peterborough was crowned 2023 winner after facing Josh and Dan in the final.
Matty was thrilled to be crowned winner of the 2023 series after nudging ahead of Josh and Dan after the trio were tasked with a choux pastry signature, a lard cake technical challenge and a celebration cake showstopper. Matty thrilled the judges with his impressive showstopper, which was a three-tiered cake, with Paul admitting it was one of the best sponges he'd eaten in years.
Judges Dame Prue Leith said: "I have never met a more cheerful, smiling uncomplaining and willing baker. He was just having such a good time, learning as much as he could, taking on board everything either of us said."
While Paul Hollywood said that Matty 'got better and better and better' as the series went on. "If you are going to smash it you do it in the last challenge, and that is exactly what he did. That chocolate cake was one of the best chocolate cakes I have had for a long, long time."
2022 - Syabira Yusoff
The Great British Bake Off 2022 crowned Syabira the winner after she went head-to-head with Abdul and Sandro in the final. The trio were asked to assemble the perfect picnic for the signature challenge and create a Summer Pudding Bombe for the technical. For the final challenge, the bakers had to make a sculpture in line with the theme of Our Beautiful Planet, with Syabira impressing the judges with an orangutang which she named This Is My Home. Speaking about why Syabira won the series judge Prue Leith said: "She is creative and she is careful, she practices like anything and she is imaginative, she just has the lot. She is a very skillful baker."
2021 - Giuseppe Dell'Anno
2021 was another year of The Great British Bake Off where the team behind the show went to great lengths to bring us all the drama from the famous white tent against the odds. After grueling technical challenges and amazing showstoppers throughout the series it was Giuseppe, Crystelle and Chigs who made it to the final of the show, with Giuseppe taking the crown. Throughout the series, Giuseppe wowed the judges with his precision and skill, and it was his beautifully presented bakes that lead him to be crowned the 2021 winner.
2020 — Peter Sawkins
In 2020 the production team behind The Great British Bake Off defied the odds and managed to bring us the show we all know and love, despite filming in strict lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic. Everyone involved in bringing the show to Channel 4 went above and beyond, self-isolating away from their families and living in a self-contained biosphere to give us the much-needed escapism we craved in 2020.
This was also the first season Matt Lucas joined Noel Fielding in the presenting line-up, replacing Sandi Toksvig. The final saw Laura Adlington, Peter Sawkins and Dave Friday battling it out in the tent, with Scottish student Peter finally winning the 2020 crown. Peter was 20 years old when he won, the youngest baker to ever win the competition... and the youngest contestant to ever enter the tent.
2019 — David Atherton
In 2019 David Atherton made Bake Off history by being the first winner to have never won the Star Baker accolade during the competition. Runners-up were Steph Blackwell and Alice Fevronia, but it was health advisor David who took the crown, having won praise for his healthier bakes. One surprising fact about David is that he was originally a reserve for the show, and only made it to the final lineup at the last minute when he was called in to replace another contestant before filming started.
2018 — Rahul Mandal
Rahul impressed judges and viewers with his hard work and determination creating some of the most intricate bakes the show has ever seen. Since winning the ninth series Rahul has worked as a columnist for The Times Magazine and appeared on ITV's This Morning where he shows off his cooking skills.
2017 — Sophie Faldo
Sophie, a former Royal Artillery officer, was the first winner to be crowned on the show after it moved from the The BBC to Channel 4 in 2017. Sophie beat Steven Carter-Bailey and Kate Lyon in the final, but the fact that she had won the show was accidentally revealed in advance when judge Prue Leith let the cat out of the bag 12 hours before the show was aired. Oops!
2016 — Candice Brown
When Candice was crowned winner in 2016 she also won the award for being the first contestant to be crowned Star Baker three times in one series. The former teacher has become a huge success since her time on the show, writing a column for The Times and releasing recipe books. She also swapped baking for ice skating when she joined Dancing On Ice in 2018 but was sadly the first celebrity to be eliminated.
2015 — Nadiya Hussain
Nadiya became an overnight success after winning The Great British Bake Off in 2015 after wowing the British nation with her tearful acceptance speech. Since beating Ian Cumming and Tamal Ray to be crowned winner, Nadiya has released best-selling cookbooks, written various newspaper columns and appeared on Loose Women as a guest panellist. She has also fronted a TV shows such as The Chronicles of Nadiya, Nadiya's British Food Adventure, The Big Family Cooking Showdown and Nadiya's Family Favourites. But Nadiya's most memorable moment since winning the show was being awarded the coveted job of baking a birthday cake for Queen Elizabeth II when she turned 90 in April 2016.
2014 — Nancy Birtwhistle
Nancy was another surprise winner of The Great British Bake Off, beating Luis Troyano and Richard Burr in the 2014 final. The retired GP practice manager and grandmother from Hull described taking part in the show as the most difficult but most enjoyable experience of her life. Since her win she has toured the UK sharing her baking expertise, released her own book and launched a blog where she shares recipes daily.
2013 — Frances Quinn
Frances was another shock Bake Off winner when she pipped favorite Rudy Tandoh to the post in the 2013 final. Since being crowned winner of The Great British Bake Off Frances has put her career as a children's designer on hold to make a living out of her passion for baking. After impressing Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with her elaborate bakes, she has gone on to create masterpieces for celebrities including Clare Balding, Jools Holland and Quentin Blake. She is now available for commissions and has even appeared in Vogue magazine and designed a cake for the first anniversary of The Shard.
2012 — John Whaite
At the same time as baking his way to the final in The Great British Bake Off, John, who has been baking since he was just five-years-old, was also juggling studying for his law exams at the same time. But, after his epic win in the Bake Off tent, he quit his budding career in law and focused on baking instead. Since then he has become a household name thanks to TV appearances on shows like This Morning, What's Cooking, Sunday Brunch, he presented ITV's Chopping Block and even became resident chef on Lorraine. He has released many books on baking and cooking and even trained at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu school before opening his own cookery school on his family farm in Lancashire. Most recently John has reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing 2021 with partner Johannes Radebe.
2011 — Joanne Wheatley
Joanne was the second winner of The Great British Bake Off, and she claims that winning the show changed her life completely. The mum-of-three has since appeared on TV shows like The Alan Titchmarsh Show and The One Show, and has earned a living from her best-selling cookery books A Passion for Baking and Home Baking. She has also started her own cookery school and written columns for Sainsbury's Magazine and The Sun.
2010 — Edd Kimber
Edd went down in Bake Off history when he became the first person to win the show in 2010. Before baking his way to success he worked as a debt collector for a bank. However, since his victory in the infamous white tent, he has published books called Say It With Cake, The Boy Who Bakes, Patisserie Made Simple, and One Tin Bakes. He also appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show as a resident baker. Ironically, he was rejected from a cooking course at a local catering college before going on to win The Great British Bake Off, and he has since worked at Raymond Blanc's pastry kitchen.
