The Great British Baking Show returns to Netflix on Friday, September 29 with a new cast of bakers and a new co-host for Noel Fielding, Alison Hammond. However for all that’s brand spanking new in the tent, the show’s producers have teased that this season will be a return to the gentler, simpler early days of the hit show with an emphasis on old school technique versus “Mexican Week“-esque disasters. No where is this revamp more obvious than when you look at the official bios of the 2023 Great British Baking Show bakers. There are Victorian era obsessives, 1970s cookbook connoisseurs, and a ton of heartwarming tales of learning how to bake alongside mum.

The Great British Baking Show — also known as The Great British Bake Off everywhere but the USA and Canada (where Pillsbury owns the rights to the phrase “Bake Off”) — first premiered back in 2010. Early seasons were anchored by the tender advice of Paul Hollywood’s original judging partner Mary Berry and the sweet comic rapport of real life besties Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. As the show became a monster hit world wide, Love Productions took the show off the BBC and brought it to rival network Channel 4. BBC loyalists Berry, Perkins, and Giedroyc were out, and Prue Leith, Noel Fielding, and a rotating roster of co-hosts were brought in. The bakers started to arrive with more media savvy and the challenges became increasingly more focused on style over substance, resulting in last year’s much maligned season of GBBS.

When The Great British Baking Show returns this week, it will also be attempting to return to the formula that made it a hit in the first place. Bubbly British broadcaster Alison Hammond will attempt to bring some much-needed positivity to the tent while the dozen new bakers will have to show off their skills for an increasingly discerning international audience.

But who are the twelve new bakers competing for the honor of taking home the legendary cake stand? Where can you follow them on social media? And what are our first impressions of these sweet souls based on their official bios? Here’s your guide to the bakers heating up the tent in The Great British Baking Show 2023…

• Abbi

  Age: 27

  Baking Vibe: According to Abby’s official bio, she started baking with her mother as a teen, but the hobby really took off when she became obsessed with the Victorian era. She enjoys foraging for ingredients and preparing old school bakes like steamed puddings. Here’s hoping she gets to throw down with some meat pies during her time in the tent.

  Instagram: @abbibramble

• Amos

  Age: 43

  Baking Vibe: Amos describes his own baking as “traditional with a modern twist,” which could mean anything in Bake Off terms if we’re being honest. More importantly, he seems to be smiling on almost all of his fellow bakers’ IG grids, which suggests he is a social butterfly and a sweetheart. Perfect for the tent. 

  Instagram: @amosss3

• Cristy

  Age: 33

  Baking Vibe: Cristy’s bio leads off with the intel that she is a mother of four, meaning we’ve got a mum in the tent! However, there’s more to this mama than meets the eye. Apparently she’s also a dab hand at solving Rubix Cubes, which means Cristy is also something of a genius. (I mean…I can’t solve those.)

  Instagram: @cristysharp_

• Dan

  Age: 42

  Baking Vibe: Dan is described as a perfectionist who actively seeks out the hardest bake in a cookbook to master. That suggests to me that Dan is in it to win it, which means he could very well be a contender to go all the way to the finals. 

  Instagram: @dancazador9

• Dana

  Age: 25

  Baking Vibe: Dana’s bio tells us that she is a messy baker who ironically prefers the clean lines of a mostly naked cake to, say, fondant fantasy. Here’s hoping that her untidy benches give Noel and Alison a lot to joke about and that her bakes knock the socks off of Paul and Prue. 

  Instagram: @dana_conway

• Josh

  Age: 27

  Baking Vibe: We’re told that Josh uses his background as a chemist in his baking, which just has me anticipating that he will be the UK’s answer to Lessons in Chemistry’s fictional heroine Elizabeth Zott. Will he insist upon called salt “sodium chloride”? Will he whip out a Bunsen burner to make caramel? Or does he just use a digital scale for precise flour measuring? I can’t wait to find out!

  Instagram: @joshpsmalley

• Keith

  Age: 60

  Baking Vibe: In keeping with the overall theme that this season will go back to basics, Keith’s baking origin story starts with baking fairy cakes with his mother as a child. According to his bio, his latest baking obsession is revisiting 1970s cookbooks that intimidated him in his youth. Perhaps he and Abbi can compare notes on historic pie crust techniques. 

  Instagram: @keithbarron6

• Matty

  Age: 28

  Baking Vibe: We’re told that the tattooed Matty first fell in love with baking when his mum presented him with a homemade teddy bear cake for his fourth birthday. Instead of vintage cookbooks, he gets his intel from online patisserie videos. If you’re already forming your Bake Off crush on him, be warned. He is gearing up to whip up his very own wedding cake for his impending nuptials to financée Lara.

  Instagram: @mattyedgell

• Nicky

  Age: 52

  Baking Vibe: Before I get into anything else, I just have to say I *adore* Nicky’s personal sense of style. The ruffled chambray collar under a bold jumper? Iconic. Even more exciting? In addition to being a baker, Nicky volunteers for a pet therapy charity. I don’t even need to know she loves making pastries the most, followed by bread. I already stan. 

  Instagram: @nickybakesalot

• Rowan

  Age: 21

  Baking Vibe: Rowan is the youngest baker in the tent this season, which means there will be extra pressure on him to follow in the footsteps of other precocious youths like Henry Bird or eventual winner Peter Sawkins. In early footage of the new series, Rowan appears overwhelmed to actually be in the tent: “Oh my gosh! It’s real!” We love a fellow Bake Off nerd.

  Instagram: @rowanclaughton

• Saku

  Age: 50

  Baking Vibe: Sri Lankan born Sakuhas a slightly different baking origin story than the countless others who learned the joy of bakes from their British mums. That’s because she didn’t have an oven until she was 18 years old! Saku is a self-taught baker who embraced the hobby when she moved to the UK in 2003. She already seems to have a catch phrase, as she’s touting her own quote — “It’s heavenly!” — on her social media. Get it, girl!

  Instagram: @simplysakus

• Tasha

  Age: 27

  Baking Vibe: 27-year-old Tasha is unique insomuch that she’s already making Great British Baking Show history by being the first deaf baker on the show. She’ll be outfitted with a hearing aid and a British Sign Language interpreter during her time in the tent and the hope is she’ll be able to participate seamlessly with the others. According to her bio, she is a fearless baker, so expect some razzle dazzle or unique flavors coming from her bench.

  Instagram: @tasha_f_stones