The world changed dramatically last year, but The Great British Baking Show (open in new tab) was alive and well as a TV show that offered comfort to weary souls. Now the reality series is back for a new season of eye-popping cakes and healthy competition among home bakery performers. Under the watchful eyes of judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Reese, the bakers created elaborate breads, pastries, and desserts. The Baking Show's 2021 season premieres this Friday, September 24.

Amanda is a former Scotland Yard detective and an avid swimmer. Of Greek Cypriot descent, she incorporates Greek and Middle Eastern influences into her cake making. She also draws on her career in graphic design and advertising to create feminine designs on her cakes, inspired by her two daughters.

Sales Manager Chirag, aka Chiggs, is a new baker who just started baking during the 2020 shutdown. He taught himself intricate cake and chocolate work through online videos, and the learning curve was quick. He also enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, skydiving, and mountain climbing, and is aiming to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Crystelle is a Client Relationship Manager and started baking seriously 3 years ago. She loves to travel with friends and is always taking pictures of restaurants and bakeries to check out in new cities. She also regularly uses spices from the places she visits in her baking as well as opting for traditional Portuguese Guan flavors. In her spare time, she likes to sing karaoke and in online choirs.

A psychology major, she has wanted to participate in baking shows since she saw her first tent at Bakewell when she was nine years old. She lives at home in North Yorkshire during the school year so she can continue to care for her horse, Winnie. The vegan baker began baking plant-based versions of classic cakes for her father a year ago, and her goal is to bake so well that no one can tell she's vegan.

George lives in London with his childhood sweetheart, their three children, and many animals, including Eli, a fluffy Japanese Spitz. His mother taught him traditional Greek Cypriot recipes, which he now passes on to his children. The strength of his baking is his eye for detail and his use of herbs from his garden to create a vintage feel.

The Italian-born engineer now lives in Bristol with his wife and three sons. He learned to bake cakes from his father, a professional chef, who used to make them every Sunday when Giuseppe was a child. He also loves baking with Italian flavors and feeding his children homemade sweets and desserts instead of mass-produced ones.

Treasurer Gileseno was born in Trinidad and Tobago and immigrated to the UK 15 years ago. He started baking in 2014 and is obsessed with getting the perfect flavor combination and using Caribbean spices. He is also a half marathon runner, having run the London Marathon in 2012, and loves going for walks with his partner, where he turns to nature for baking inspiration.

This IT professional hails from the Black Forest in Germany and has been baking bread ever since he moved to the UK in 2003, where he couldn't find traditional German bread and started baking it himself. He loves to bake Jewish challah bread and celebration cakes for friends and family, and does literal calculations for his ultra-precise cake baking. He also loves playing the trombone, which his son also plays.

Elizabeth, aka Lizzie, lives with her partner and their dog Prudence in an annex in the backyard of her family home in Liverpool. As a baker, she prefers simple presentation and great taste over precision. When not baking, she enjoys dancing and researching the biology of serial killers, a hobby she began while studying criminology.

Maggie is a retired nurse and midwife who believes the excitement of childbirth is good preparation for entering baking contests. Having grown up surrounded by a family that was always cooking and baking, she has a large collection of classic recipe books that she uses to recreate traditional treats with new flavors. When she is not baking, she enjoys canoeing, kayaking, sailing, and traveling in her camper.

A HR professional, Rochica is a lifelong dancer who became interested in baking when an injury sidelined her. Having a large Jamaican family, she incorporates their traditions into her baking. She says she feels especially proud when her grandmother and aunts tell her that she reminds them of the sweets she ate as a child. Although she has resumed dancing, she still bakes cookies for her nephews and birthday cakes for her nieces.

Tom works in the family business as a software developer. He remembers being the only boy in his elementary school baking club, but four years ago he got into baking in earnest when he made a sticky toffee pudding cake for his father. He likes to make fun, generally themed treats, and his mother calls him "the midnight baker." He is also a runner who loves amateur acting and singing.