The Great British Bake Off

12 more amateur bakers will enter the tent under the beady eyes of judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, hoping to win them over and perhaps even receive the honour of a Hollywood handshake. Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding are also back to present and pester the contestants.

The usual schedule sees the field narrowed down to just three bakers by week 10, at which point the finalists will battle it out in the hopes of winning the glass cake stand.

Quentin Blake: The Drawing Of My Life

BBC Two, 4.10pm

BBC Two celebrates one of Britain’s most iconic artists, Quentin Blake, in a one-off special that sees the illustrator tell his life story by painting a 30-foot-long canvas.

Swapping the Pink Palace for the equally glamorous Bake Off tent, Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Nathaniel Curtis and Shaun Dooley will be competing to see who can whip up the best festive bakes. 

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:

Manhunt II

Monday

ITV, 9.00pm

Martin Clunes returns as former Metropolitan Police Senior Investigating Officer Colin Sutton in the second series of the ITV drama, subtitled The Night Stalker.

The first episode will air on Channel 4 on Tuesday 21 September at 8.00pm.

The announcement follows last week’s teaser video captioned “Loaf is in the air... The Great British Bake Off. Coming Soon.”

Dramatically scored, the short video shows the tent pitched once again in the grounds of Welford Park in Newbury, Berkshire.

Noel Fielding will return to host with Matt Lucas, who joined the team for the last edition.

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will also return to judge the bakes, meaning the bakers will be competing for that all important Hollywood handshake.

Mary Berry: Love To Cook is a six-part, half-hour series which sees Berry visit fellow foodies to hear their stories, aiming to ignite the same passion for producing and cooking food in viewers.

Berry will also share her favourite, flavourful dishes for beginners or experts, a small budget or a big crowd, using primarily UK produce.

BBC Books will publish the accompanying book to the series.

You think that policemen/teachers/doctors look incredibly young. You become grumpy when your colleagues don’t know what a VHS tape is. You join a gym after seeing yourself in the mirror as you climb out of the bath. And, God forbid, you buy truckloads of Lycra for your new-found hobby of cycling.

Recognise any of this? Sure, you do, as you fall asleep after one glass of wine, tired from a full day at the garden centre, which now counts as “splashing out”. And if you prefer radio to TV, you are on the slippery slope. Welcome to middle age.

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer

Tuesday

Channel 4, 8pm

Famous faces don their aprons for another celebrity special of The Great British Bake Off in aid of Stand Up to Cancer.

Not even coronavirus could threaten the unflappable national institution of The Great British Bake Off, which has been filmed following strict Covid-19 protocol with the twelve bakers entering an isolation bubble.

Professional cooks Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith return to judge the competition in the iconic Bake Off tent, with 30 brand new challenges for the bakers to tackle.

Comedian Matt Lucas joins the hosting team alongside Noel Fielding, following Sandi Toksvig’s departure from the show.