The Great British Baking Show 2026 Cast: Meet All 12 Bakers

The Great British Baking Show’s 2026 cast includes a doctor, a drag performer, a sprinter and a retired garment technologist. There are 12 amateur bakers in the original lineup, each arriving with a different set of recipes, influences and people back home who have tasted the practice runs.

For American viewers, this is Collection 14 on Netflix. In the UK, the same competition is Series 17 of The Great British Bake Off. The different numbering can make cast searches confusing, but Clara, Connie, Danni, Gabe, Gary, Mo, Molly, Moyin, Nikki, Shannon, Tom and Yannis belong to the same 2026 group.

Here is who they are, what they do outside the tent and the baking styles they brought to the show. This guide covers the original cast without elimination spoilers.

The Great British Baking Show 2026 cast at a glance

Ages, occupations and locations below are those supplied for the season’s launch. They are not a live age tracker or a list of contestants still in the competition.

Baker	Launch age	Based in	Occupation
Clara	24	Hertfordshire	Marketing graduate
Connie	63	London	NHS hospital discharge lead
Danni	25	Dorset	HGV service center administrator
Gabe	32	West Midlands	Artist and drag king
Gary	67	Nottinghamshire	Retired garment technologist
Mo	21	West Midlands	Law student
Molly	31	London	Accessibility coordinator
Moyin	22	Essex	Political economy student
Nikki	50	London	Advertising post-producer
Shannon	29	Gloucestershire	Project planner and scheduler
Tom	25	West Yorkshire	Hairdresser
Yannis	28	London	Paediatric doctor

Meet the 12 bakers

Clara: portuguese desserts and colorful designs

Clara brings Portuguese baking to the tent. Originally from Aveiro, she moved to the UK at 18 to study marketing and later began making cakes as a creative outlet. Her repertoire includes tarte de nata, while fresh fruit and bright decoration are recurring interests. She was based in Hertfordshire when she joined the show, with a preference for bakes that catch the eye before the first bite. Read more about Clara Satchell-Silva.

Connie: carrot cake, fruit cake and familiar flavors

Connie works as an NHS hospital discharge lead and turns to baking after demanding working days. She is particularly associated with carrot cake and fruit cake, with lemon, lavender and rum among her favorite flavors. Students at the London music center she runs with her husband have also been taste testers. Her approach is rooted in years of feeding other people, rather than a recent discovery of the hobby. Read Connie’s profile.

Danni: foraged ingredients and playful decoration

Danni’s ingredients can begin with a walk outdoors. The Dorset baker experiments with foraged finds, including chestnut and dandelion, alongside flavors such as ube and red bean paste. Video games and animation provide a different kind of inspiration for decoration. Away from the mixing bowl, Danni handles administration at an HGV service center and enjoys repairing old electronics. That combination of practical work and inventive hobbies makes for an unusually varied background. Meet Danni Noke.

Gabe: savory bakes and meringue

Gabe works across drag, theater and costume design, performing as Blü Romantic. Baking became another creative interest after watching Bake Off as a teenager. Their preferences include savory, meat-filled bakes and meringue, and they favor a homemade finish over something that looks factory-produced. Originally from Grimsby and based in the West Midlands, Gabe also gardens and hosts dinner parties. Our Gabe Capes profile looks at the performer behind the apron.

Gary: neat presentation and citrus flavors

Gary came to baking later in life. The retired garment technologist bought his first cookbook about five years before entering the competition, then developed an interest in precise presentation and strong citrus flavors. He lives on a Nottinghamshire smallholding and uses baking to support cancer charities through fundraising events. At 67 in the launch biographies, he was the oldest baker in this year’s original lineup. Read more about Gary Harding.

Mo: british classics with Asian flavors

Mo is studying law with the aim of becoming a solicitor, but his interest in baking goes back much further. A mug-cake video caught his attention as a child, and boxed cake mixes eventually gave way to more carefully finished desserts. He draws on Asian flavors when working with British classics. The West Midlands student was introduced at 21, making him the youngest member of the 2026 cast. Meet Mo Mahirr.

Molly: traditional bakes, fruit and hazelnut

Molly works in accessibility, reviewing transport for a disability charity. Her grandmother helped spark an interest in baking that continued into adulthood, with traditional recipes and flavors such as hazelnut, mint and fresh fruit among her favorites. Her interests outside the kitchen include musical theater, Formula 1 and an ambitious cross-stitch project. The London baker’s profile offers a closer look at Molly Chauhan’s work and background.

Moyin: macarons and flavors from his Nigerian heritage

Moyin combines political economy studies with competitive sprinting and a part-time job. He began baking with his mother, worked on macarons as a teenager and brings flavors connected to his Nigerian heritage into his recipes. Grains of paradise and groundnuts are among the ingredients mentioned in his official introduction. Based in Essex, he entered the competition with experience of both race-day preparation and detailed kitchen work. Read Moyin Odeniran’s profile.

Nikki: colorful bakes made for sharing

Nikki is an advertising post-producer from London who has baked since childhood. Her approach is colorful and social: cakes and desserts are a way to feed friends and family. Music is part of the routine, with familiar R&B accompanying established recipes and classical music providing a quieter setting for experiments. Before her television appearance, she had also been a podium dancer. Read more about Nikki from Bake Off.

Shannon: rustic designs and homegrown ingredients

Shannon’s countryside surroundings are a source of ingredients as well as decoration ideas. Raised in Bristol and based in Gloucestershire, she enjoys gardening, growing food and making rustic bakes. Her grandmother taught her to bake, while her day job as a project planner and scheduler gives her plenty of experience organizing work against a deadline. The appeal of her style is in that connection between the garden and the kitchen. Meet Shannon Amy.

Tom: brandy snaps and salted caramel brownies

Tom learned to bake at his grandmother’s house and was making brandy snaps before his tenth birthday. The West Yorkshire hairdresser now has another group of regular taste testers: his salon colleagues, who try creations including salted caramel brownies. He likes bakes with humor and attractive decoration, while keeping flavor central. His background also includes an extended trip around Southeast Asia before entering the competition. Read more about Tom Whittaker.

Yannis: bangladeshi and Austrian influences

Yannis works as a paediatric doctor in a neonatal intensive care unit, where he has shared his baking with colleagues. He was born in Vienna and moved to London as a child. His food memories include making bhapa pitha with his grandmother and discovering Austrian treats during his school years. Those experiences give his baking several cultural reference points. He has also said that watching Bake Off helped him learn English. Meet Yannis Ali.

Who are the judges and hosts in 2026?

Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson are the judges. Lawson joins after Prue Leith’s departure. Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding return as hosts, guiding the bakers through the challenges and the inevitable last-minute rushes.

The contestants face Signature, Technical and Showstopper challenges. Knowing a baker’s usual style gives those rounds extra context: Danni’s interest in foraging is different from Tom’s childhood practice with brandy snaps, just as Gary’s later start contrasts with Moyin’s early work on macarons. The cast guide is a way to keep those backgrounds straight while watching.

Where can you watch The Great British Baking Show 2026?

In the United States, Netflix began releasing Collection 14 on September 25, 2026, with new episodes arriving on Fridays. In the UK, Series 17 began on Channel 4 on September 22, 2026. The titles and season numbers differ by market, so look for the 2026 cast when choosing a season.

Is this the same show as The Great British Bake Off?

Yes. The Great British Baking Show is the US title for The Great British Bake Off. For this lineup, Netflix’s Collection 14 corresponds to the UK’s Series 17. A search for “Bake Off Series 14” instead leads to an earlier UK season.

Cast information and launch ages: the show’s official baker biographies. US release details: Netflix Tudum. Judge and host lineup: Channel 4.