Son of Scone set to rise to the challenge in hit TV competition’s baker’s dozen

Scottish theatre manager joins fresh batch of keen cooks competing for Bake Off’s 2019 title

A Perthshire man is among the youngest-ever line-up of The Great British Bake Off, with this year’s participants comprising 13 amateur bakers rather than the usual 12.

Theatre manager and fitness instructor Michael was taught to bake by his mother using old, handwritten recipes passed down from her grandparents.

Born in Newcastle, he was raised in Scone from the age of seven and later studied in Edinburgh, and he considers himself Scottish. He works as a manager at a theatre company in Stratford-uponAvon.

He is inspired by the flavours of his Indian heritage and, although he has attempted nearly every discipline in baking, his strengths are in cakes and pastry.

Michael said: “This was the very first time that I applied. One night I applied as I was a bit bored. I never thought I would get to the audition process so when I found out it was a mixture of shock and blind panic!”

The baker’s dozen of hopefuls includes seven people in their 20s while the oldest contestant is 56, with an average age of 31 in the tent.

In previous years there have been contestants in their 60s and 70s, and the majority of line-ups have had an average age closer to 40.

There are usually 12 amateurs in the Bake Off each year, with the exception of 2013 when 13 took part, and the first series in 2010 when there were only 10.

The aspiring bakers will be competing to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood across a series of challenges where they will be tasked with baking cakes, biscuits and breads among other tasty creations in a bid to be named Bake Off champion.

The upcoming series, which kicks off next week, will be the third to air on Channel 4 after the show parted ways with the BBC.

Among this year’s contestants are a geography teacher, a fashion designer, an HGV driver and a veterinary surgeon.

Geography teacher Alice, 28, took up baking at the age of 15 when a back operation for scoliosis left her unable to do sport.

In her early 20s, she moved to New Zealand, where she picked up the art of making a pavlova while attending art school. Now back in the UK and living in London, Alice often uses her cakes in her lessons, demonstrating natural activities such as coastal erosion and volcanic activity.

She said: “I have wanted to be in Bake Off ever since the show has started, but I wasn’t really good enough when I was 18. To be on such a big show doing something that you are passionate about is a huge thing.

“I also felt that to be accepted into the tent gave me the confidence to feel that I could bake. It was a dream come true.”

Amelia, a 24-year-old sportswear designer from Halifax, has been baking since the age of five, when she watched her mother and grandmother make beautiful cake decorations.

Although now living in London, Amelia – who has wanted to take part in Bake Off since the first series in 2010 – still draws on her northern roots in her baking and firmly believes that freshly farmed produce is essential for a good bake.

The new series of The Great British Bake Off, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, will begin on Channel 4 on August 27 at 8pm.