Welsh contestant ready to enter Bake Off tent
A BLOOD courier, a civil servant who also works as a house and techno DJ, and a retired air steward are among the contestants entering the tent to take part in the upcoming series of The Great British Bake Off.
They will be joined by a banker, a mental health specialist and a research scientist as 12 new contestants attempt to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.
The upcoming series will be the second to air on Channel 4 after the show parted ways with the BBC.
Blood courier Jon, 47, has said he loves to bake after a hard day at work and aims to make impressive creations and experiment with different techniques. The contestant, a father of four from Newport in Wales, said: “I bake as often as I can, several times a week, mainly in the day while my wife and children are at school as I get some peace that way!
“The tent is far easier than my kitchen – at home I have the kids running around, afterschool clubs to pick up from and my wife trying to keep the kitchen clean and tidy.”
Mental health specialist, Kim-Joy, 27, was born in Belgium to an English father and Malaysian-Chinese mother, grew up in London and now lives in Leeds, and says her mixed-heritage background is reflected in her open attitude to all styles of baking.
Banker Antony, 30, describes himself as a “Bollywood baker” after growing up in India, where he learned to bake with his father.
Also born in India was research scientist Rahul, 30, who moved to the UK on a university scholarship when he was 23 and lives in Rotherham.
Project manager Ruby, 29, also grew up in an Indian family and remembers her mother making Indian sweets when she was a child.
■ The new series of The Great British Bake Off, hosted by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, will begin on Channel 4 on August 28 at 8pm.