Great British Bake Off: Waterlooville security guard and West Sussex pantomime producer join this year's line-up

Dave Friday from Waterlooville and Lottie Bedlow from West Sussex are joining 10 other baking-mad contestants on this year’s Great British Bake Off with the hopes of taking the trophy.

After moving in with his girlfriend, Dave found a passion for baking and describes his baking style as ‘innovative and imaginative’ and says his strengths lie in bread.

The 30-year-old also has a passion for cars and DIY, and loves taking his dog and cat for walks.

Lottie has been watching cookery shows on television since she was a child and found a love of baking from her Lancastrian great-grandmother

The 31-year-old describes herself as a ‘perpetually frustrated perfectionist’.

Joining Dave and Lottie in this year’s tent will be Hermine, 39, an accountant from London who loves making high-end patisserie, digital manager Laura, a 31-year-old digital manager from Kent and 32-year-old Mark, a project manager from Liverpool, who is influenced by his Irish heritage and by the flavours of Africa and Asia, where he travels for work.

A love of baking and food passed down the generations inspired Linda, 61, a retired living team leader from East Sussex, 27-year-old diagnostic radiographer Loriea from Durham and 20-year-old Peter, an accounting and finance student from Edinburgh, to sign up for this year’s series.

Self-taught bakers Makbul, 51, an accountant from Greater Manchester, music teacher Rowan, a 55-year-old from Worcestershire and Sura, 31, a pharmacy dispenser from London, all like to experiment with flavours in the kitchen.

The final contestant Marc, 51, a bronze resin sculptor from Cornwall, started baking bread as a form of therapy after losing his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2016 and now has moved on to make palmiers and millefeuille.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are returning but presenter Noel Fielding will be part of a new duo after Sandi Toksvig announced she would be leaving the show after three years.

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Noel will be joined by comedian Matt Lucas for co-hosting duties.

The Covid-19 pandemic, and consequent restrictions on filming TV shows and films, has meant the Channel 4 competition was made differently this year with the series’ cast and crew having to live in a ‘self-contained biosphere’ for six weeks.

Prue said: ‘I ended up thinking, ‘This is the safest place in the whole of England’.

‘All 130 people – which includes the hotel staff and all of the crew and all the support staff and all the bakers – we all had been tested to death. We had our temperatures taken every morning.

‘So, when we were in the tent, we were allowed to behave absolutely freely, and that was great, because that meant that the viewer will see Bake Off like they’re used to. It won’t be masks and social distancing.

‘It would have been really difficult to do Bake Off without being friendly, wouldn’t it?’

The Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 on Tuesday, September 22.

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