This year, 12 keen bakers will be looking to impress the two returning expert judges, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood. Enough perhaps for a hallowed handshake.

Meanwhile, Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas will be on hand to offer moral support and baker banter.

Here are the dozen vying for the crown:

Amanda, 56

Having grown up baking with her mum and Greek Auntie, London Met Police Detective Amanda is now swapping her blue colours for the brown apron.

She’s also bringing an academic background in graphic design to the table, which should result in some fancy bakes with a Greek twist and an aesthetic she says is inspired by her two daughters.

Chigs, 40

Chigs is certainly not the only one to have started baking seriously in lockdown 2020. But while we all peaked with a passable banana bread, Chigs moved right onto complex bakes and intricate chocolate work.

Bouldering, skydiving, trekking, Chris is also an adrenaline junkie, so he should remain entirely unfazed by the stress of the tent.

Crystelle, 26

Born in North West London to Kenyan born, Portugese-Goan parents, Crystelle brings a diverse heritage to baking.

Growing up, Crystelle was her mother’s chief-taster of the family meals, and is now her friends’ taste-maker when they go travelling. She loves infusing spices from the places she visits into her bakes, with a turmeric, curry powder and spring onion fougasse being a personal favourite.

Freya, 19

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Freya was nine when she first saw the tent in Bakewell, and ever since then it has been her dream to enter the competition.

Her grandma sparked her passion for baking, and having begun to make vegan alternatives to classic bakes for her dad, she has now made it her goal to bake them so that no one can tell any different.

George, 34

George grew up in a Greek-Cypriot food loving family and it was his mum who taught him how to bake. He is now passing the baking baton to his own three children.

He loves all the Greek classics and often turns to home-grown herbs for his flavours. While striving for the perfect shabby-chic presentation.

Giuseppe, 45

Giuseppe grew up in Italy where his father, a professional chef, cooked all the family meals and baked them a cake every Sunday.

He confesses to having become a bit of a food snob, but with his upbringing, that was arguably inevitable. He now only wants to feed his children homemade confectionery.

Given the average child's appetite for sweets, he will have got plenty of practice in.

Jairzeno, 51

Sick of all the fancy looking, average tasting bakes out there, in 2014 the Trinidadian-born Jairzeno picked up his spatula and started obsessing over flavour combinations using lots of Caribbean spices.

He’s completed multiple half marathons across Europe and ran the London Marathon in 2012, but can he go the distance in Welford Park?

Jürgen, 56

Jürgen moved to the UK from Germany in 2003, and is now settled down in Sussex with his wife and son. When he started suffering from a severe lack of traditional German bread, he picked up baking to fill the hole in his stomach, but his passion has only grown since.

He approaches baking the way he does his physics, with precise calculations for the perfect results.

Lizzie, 28

Lizzie lives with her partner and their dog, Prudence, in Liverpool, where she is a Car Production Operative by day and a samba dancer by night.

Lizzie’s comfort zone is cake, her danger zone cheese. Specifically putting cheese in bread. Let’s hope the judges aren’t listening.

Maggie, 70

When it comes to baking, Maggie claims to be natural. She’s amassed an impressive collection of classic recipe books over the years, which she uses to recreate traditional bakes while experimenting with new flavours.

She also believes her career as a midwife has prepared her well for the Bake Off tent. Having delivered all those buns from the oven, she may well be right.

Rochica, 27

Rochica has roots in Jamaica, with family from the country on both sides, and she reflects the heritage with her bakes. She enjoys taking her nan and aunties on a tasty trip down memory lane by recreating the treats they grew up with.

She first caught the baking bug when an injury stopped her from dancing, and although she has returned to the dancefloor, she still finds time to bake.

Tom, 28

Four years ago, the sticky toffee pudding Tom baked for his dad one day awakened his inner baker. Now he bakes several times a week and anything from a pie to a loaf of bread.

His mum describes him as the ‘midnight baker’ because while living at the family home, she would often wake up to a delicious treat... and a load of washing up.