The Great British Bake Off Season 13: Release Date Cast, And New Details
Even though Season 12 of "The Great British Bake Off" — or "The Great British Baking Show," if you're watching in the US — just wrapped up, the 6.9 million viewers who reportedly watched the finale are ready for the next season.
If you're unfamiliar with "GBBO," meet your new guilty pleasure. With 12 bakers competing over the course of 10 episodes, the reality show is one part talent showcase and one part wholesome competition. Each episode features the contestants competing in three different challenges set around a specific theme — the signature, technical, and showstopper.
According to the show's website, the signature is meant to be something that has a homemade quality to it, while the showstopper is meant for bakers to show off their decorative and baking skills. The technical challenge is the middle and hardest challenge, with bakers going in blind about what they'll be expected to make.
Like with the Season 12 finale, each episode has a theme that the recipes revolve around. As you watch the bakers work their magic, hosts try to provide comedic relief in the high-stress situations. This year, we watched Giuseppe Dell'Anno take home the grand prize. The son of a baker, he dazzled judges and viewers with his incredible skill — but just thinking about the last season has us craving the next (via Vulture).
Luckily, details are starting to come together for Season 13 of "The Great British Bake Off," and here's what we know so far.
This is when you can expect The Great British Bake Off to come back
Bakers, set your timers: "The Great British Bake Off" has an official release date. British viewers will be able to join this year's dozen bakers starting Sept. 13 on Channel 4, per Radio Times.
Americans, however, will have a longer wait. While it's been confirmed that "The Great British Bake Off" will be returning to Netflix weekly under the title "The Great British Baking Show," there has not been a start date announced yet. Based on previous years, however, we should expect it soon.
Who are the bakers on The Great British Bake Off Season 13?
The roster of bakers for Season 13 has been announced, per Radio Times. Not only is there a diverse range of ages, as we've seen in previous seasons, but the contestants' backgrounds are just as wide-ranging.
Maisam, 18, and Rebs, 23, are both students, while James, 25, is a nuclear scientist. Abdul, 29, is an electronic engineer, who joins Syabria, 32, a cardiovascular research associate, and Maxy, 29, an architectural assistant, in a strong showing for the science field.
Then there's Kevin, 33, a music teacher; Sandro, 30, a nanny; and Janusz, 34, who works as a personal assistant to a teacher. Finally, we have Carole, 59, a supermarket cashier; Will, 45, a former charity director; and Dawn, 60, an IT manager.
Here's who will be judging Season 13
Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will be back to judge the next batch of bakers on Season 13 of "The Great British Bake Off," per Radio Times.
Hollywood has been with the show since the beginning. He's seen as one of the UK's "leading artisan bakers," according to the show's website and even has a best-selling book on baking bread. Outside of "GBBO," he has hosted "Bread" and "Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds," both for BBC1 (via IMDb). A handshake from Hollywood is nearly as coveted as winning the competition, and Hollywood gave a few out in Season 12. We can't wait to see if anyone impresses him this much in Season 13.
Leith, on the other hand, is one of the UK's "foremost culinary experts" and joined the show in 2017 (via The Sun). Before "GBBO," she was a restauranteur, caterer, food teacher, food writer, novelist, radio cook, and television cook. In June 2021, as part of Queen Elizabeth's birthday celebration, Leith was made a dame for her "services to food, broadcasting, and charity," according to BBC America.
This is who will host the next season of The Great British Bake Off
Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas are expected to return as the hosts of "The Great British Bake Off" for Season 13. The pair have been hosting together since 2020 — to mixed fan reactions. On an Instagram post showcasing the team's dry humor, one fan commented, "I miss Sand and Sue and Mel. These two are styled and too inappropriate. Wish they would be replaced."
The duo is more than qualified to host "The Great British Baking Show," however. According to the show's website, Fielding is an award-winning comedian who, over the past two decades, you might've seen performing stand-up or guest-starring on "The IT Crowd." Meanwhile, Lucas has some serious acting chops. He reprised the role of Thénardier in the concert version of "Les Misérables" at The Sondheim Theater in 2019, according to WhatsOnStage, and you may have also seen him in Tim Burton's adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland."
Here's where you can watch previous seasons of the show
If you're in desperate need of a "Great British Bake Off" fix ahead of Season 13, it's not as easy as logging into your Netflix account anymore, no matter where you live.
As of Jan. 1, 2022, Seasons 1–5 were pulled from Netflix in North America, per WhatsOnNetflix. To watch them, you'll have to go to PBS, which aired the show in the US before Netflix picked up exclusive rights to in 2018, per WhatsOnNetflix. This is also when the show became "The Great British Baking Show" for Americans, though it remains "GBBO" everywhere else. If you're looking for more recent seasons, you can still find them on Netflix.
If you're in the UK, however, you'll no longer be able to find old seasons of "GBBO" through BBC iPlayer or NetflixUK. As Surrey Live reports, any season with BBC branding — Seasons 1–7, if you're in the UK — is now available exclusively through the streaming service BritBox, created by the BBC and iTV.