Get your pastries and Hollywood Handshakes at the ready, because The Great British Bake Off is back on telly.
Here’s everything you need to know, including when to tune in, who the presenters are, how to watch it from the US and abroad and how to apply to compete in the main series yourself.
When will The Great British Bake Off 2023 air in the UK and US?
The Great British Bake Off series 14 is airing episodes every Tuesday at 8pm BST in the UK.
The Bake Off account has confirmed that the series (called The Great British Baking Show) will begin in the US on Friday 29 September 2023 at midnight PST, in-keeping with the three-day delay that happens every year.
In these modern times, you don’t just have to watch the bakers struggle with a technical recipe the traditional way. Instead, you can watch on the Channel 4 website – live or on-demand with catch-up through a wide range of devices including smart TVs, games consoles, media streamers, phones and tablets.
Is there a trailer for The Great British Bake Off 2023?
The first full trailer gives us a look at all the bakers, and our new presenter:
Who are the presenters and judges of Bake Off 2023?
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will once again be judging our bakers, but the presenters have had a mix-up this year. Noel Fielding will be back as usual, but Matt Lucas has left the tent due to scheduling conflicts. Whilst fans may be sad to see him go, there is an upside. He will be replaced by UK national treasure, Alison Hammond.
Alison has been in the tent once before on the charity series of the show. Here’s a teaser of some of the antics you can expect below:
Who are the contestants in Bake Off 2023?
Here are the official contestants for The Great British Bake Off 2023:
- Abbi, 27, from Cumbria – A Veg grower and delivery driver by trade, Abbi is fascinated by traditional bakes and foraging for seasonal ingredients.
- Amos, 43, from North London – Amos’s role model when it comes to baking is his mum, and he loves combining different flavours. By day, he’s a deli & grocery manager.
- Cristy, 33, from East London – Mum and PA Cristy aims to make enchanting bakes, and experiments with Israeli and Jamaican flavours inspired by her heritage and husband respectively.
- Dan, 42, from Cheshire – Civil engineering resource planner Dan loves pies and patisserie, and is always up for a baking challenge.
- Dana, 25, from Essex – Database administrator Dana loves rustic baking and minimal decoration, with a touch of Indian spices in a nod to her heritage.
- Josh, 27, from Leicestershire – Josh is currently a post-doctoral research associate, and loves giving a modern twist to classic recipes.
- Keith, 60, from Hampshire – Keith loves going back to 1970’s cookbooks and trying to recreate recipes that were previously too difficult. By day, he works as a chartered accountant.
- Matty, 28, from Cambridgeshire – PE & science teacher Matty is known for his cakes, and likes to keep his flavours traditional.
- Nicky, 52, from West Midlands – Retired cabin crew & volunteer Nicky has a fondness for pastries, breads and fun birthday cakes.
- Rowan, 21, from West Yorkshire – English Literature student Rowan loves to impress with opulent and extravagant bakes.
- Saku, 50, from Herefordshire – Intelligence analyst Saku puts her Sri Lankan heritage at the forefront of her baking, with one of her specialities being a curry-filled pie.
- Tasha, 27, from Bristol – Tasha loves trying out near-impossible designs with her bakes, when she’s not working as a Participation officer.
Who won the GBBO 2022?
The winner of The Great British Bake Off 2022 was Syabira, who won the heart of the nation with her charming personality and Malaysian-inspired bakes.
Where to watch Bake Off from outside the UK
As per usual, Bake Off is available through regular UK broadcast TV (or however you get your TV), airing on Channel 4.
If you want to watch from outside the UK – such as the US, where you might know it as The Great British Baking Show – then there are a couple of ways to watch the latest series.
Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix
Netflix US has the rights to The Great British Baking Show, and typically airs the latest episodes three days after they release in the UK. We now have confirmation that The Great British Baking Show will start airing on Netflix on Friday 29 September 2023 in America.
Therefore, you can catch all the activity in the tent on Fridays, providing you have a Netflix account. Subscriptions for this start from $6.99 per month.
Watch The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 with a VPN
If you’re worried about spoilers and want to watch the latest episodes as soon as possible, then there is another way: use a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear as if your device is local if you want to watch along with the UK on the Channel 4 website.
There are loads of VPNs out there, but our top recommendations are NordVPN and Surfshark, both of which we’ve found to be reliable, speedy, and pretty affordable. If you want to see what other options are out there, then take a look at our list of the best VPNs for streaming video.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed your VPN onto your device, here’s the steps you need to take:
- Connect to a UK sever on your chosen VPN
- Sign up for an account (it’s free, but requires your email)
- Search for The Great British Bake Off, click on the latest season and watch away!
The Channel 4 website requires you to turn off any ad-blockers – which includes any optional ad-blocking in your VPN – so make sure you do that before trying to watch. If you still can’t connect, try a different server within your VPN until you find one that works for you.
Please note that this is against Channel 4’s terms of service, so proceed at your own risk.
How to apply to be on the GBBO
If you’re a budding baker and would like to apply for Bake Off, then applications for 2024 should open when the new season begins. You will be able to send in your details to be on the show via the official sign-up page.
Author: Hannah Cowton, Senior Entertainment Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Entertainment Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.