Who are the Great British Bake Off 2020 contestants?

Who are the GBBO contestants for 2020?

Sura

Age: 31
Occupation: Pharmacy dispenser
Bio: Growing up surrounded by a food-loving family, Sura likes to weave the flavours of her heritage into her creations. The many Middle Eastern and Asian influences give her recipes a distinctive profile. Sura is a fan of experimenting with fragrant and floral flavours, and working with dainty, intricate bakes. She also likes to inject her bakes with as much personality as possible, so expect characterful cakes.
Our prediction: Sura says that her strengths lie in balancing big flavours; if she can nail the presentation too, she might be the whole package.

Rowan

Age: 55
Occupation: Music teacher
Bio: Self-taught baker Rowan describes his baking style as 'ostentatious', with a particular affinity for French baking and more complex cakes. Rowan takes great care over his decoration and presentation, often using edible flowers from his own garden. He's also a fitness enthusiast, enjoying swimming, horse riding and cycling.
Our prediction: Rowan's flair for the dramatic will certainly make for some impressive bakes, and his love of French patisserie will see him excel at the trickier recipes.

Peter

Age: 20
Occupation: Accounting & finance student
Bio: Edinburgh-born Peter grew up feasting on his mum's top-notch home-cooking. He enjoys adding classic Scottish flavours to his bakes, such as berries, honey and whisky, and was originally inspired to begin baking after watching the first series of GBBO. He also has a competitive streak, representing his county in badminton.
Our prediction: With Peter's attention to detail, we expect his bakes will be planned with precision and timed to a tee.

Mark

Age: 32
Occupation: Project manager
Bio: From the humble lemon drizzle cake to multi-tiered wedding masterpieces, Northern Irish baker Mark enjoys experimentation. He always tries to look at the science behind the bake in order to aim for perfection. His recipes are not only influenced by his Irish roots, but African and Asian flavours, too, where he travels regularly as part of his role as a project manager.
Our prediction: With his focus on the science of baking, Mark will no doubt be breezily breaking down the technical challenges into simple steps.

Marc

Age: 51
Occupation: Bronze resin sculptor
Bio: Marc entered Bake Off to show his daughters that you can overcome any obstacle thrown at you, while developing your talents along the way. Personal hardship, including losing his leg in a motorbike accident in 2016, led him to baking bread as a form of therapy, and from there he came to baking cakes and pastries. He's developed true finesse in all his sweet treats.
Our prediction: Marc's strengths lie in all things bread and dough, so he'll be aiming to impress master baker Paul Hollywood in the tent. His artistic expertise will also come in handy for perfect presentation.

Makbul

Age: 51
Occupation: Accountant
Bio: Makbul (known as 'Mak') honed his baking skills while devouring TV shows and books, taking inspiration from famous chefs. Mak first took on cooking in order to support his mum, and has since gone from strength to strength. Mak has also taken up beekeeping, using his own honey in many of his recipes.
Our prediction: Mak really comes into his own during pastry challenges, which might trip up other, less-confident bakers. He also enjoys trying new bakes and tackling them with patience, not panic, which will come in handy under pressure.

Dave

Age: 30
Occupation: Armoured guard
Bio: Dave has developed an imaginative and innovative baking style, and has filled his kitchen with all manner of cooking gadgets. He taught himself to cook after leaving home, and his strengths lie in bread and decoration. He's perfected pretzels, brioche, rolls and baguettes, and he's up for any kind of doughy challenge.
Our prediction: Dave won't be fazed by criticism, and will keep his cool under pressure. He also enjoys giving his bakes a professional-looking finish, which should keep him in the judges' good books.

Hermine

Age: 39
Occupation: Accountant
Bio: Hermine grew up helping her mum bake for big family gatherings and catering for crowds. She has since pursued her passion for high-end French patisserie. A creative at heart, Hermine enjoys making delicious gifts for friends and family, complete with beautiful labels and finishing touches. Hermine is also a dab hand at sourdough bread.
Our prediction: Hermine is an expert in funky flavour combinations, which should set her bakes apart from the crowd. She also favours intricate recipes that require an eye for detail, a key strength in the tent.

Laura

Age: 31
Occupation: Digital manager
Bio: Gravesend-born Laura is a lover of strong flavours and modern twists on traditional bakes. Her organised nature means that she thrives in stressful situations and isn't easily fazed.
Our prediction: Laura describes herself as a perfectionist, which will hopefully help her to get that all-important clean finish the judges are looking for. Her combination of presentation skills and punchy flavours will stand her in good stead.

Linda

Age: 61
Occupation: Retirement living team leader
Bio: Linda first discovered her love of baking through frequent trips to her aunt's dairy farm, where she would help to milk the cows and make beautiful bakes in the kitchen. To this day, Linda uses homegrown produce from her aunt's farm in her recipes. She's a master of home-cooking and classic comfort food; her signature recipe is a mouth-watering sausage roll.
Our prediction: Linda's wealth of experience and knowledge of classic baking methods will be an asset when faced with technical challenges.

Loriea

Age: 27
Occupation: Diagnostic radiographer
Bio: Loriea moved the UK when she was 15, but was born and raised in Jamaica, and uses baking as a way to celebrate her Caribbean roots. Rarely following an exact recipe, Loriea loves to tweak and adapt classics with a blend of aromatic flavours such as chilli, coconut and cinnamon. She began baking at the age of five at the apron strings of her grandmother, who still to this day influences her baking style.
Our prediction: Cool, calm and collected, Loriea seems like the perfect candidate for manic baking challenges. Although she may struggle with prescriptive recipes, we also expect she'll surprise the judges with some unusual flavour combinations.

Lottie

Age: 31
Occupation: Pantomime producer
Bio: Lottie has always had a fascination with baking, and takes great care to make sure her sweet treats really look the part. Lottie's Lancastrian great-grandmother was a keen cake-maker, and for this reason, she believes baking is in her blood. Even from a young age, Lottie could be found watching cooking shows on TV rather than playing with her toys, and taking notes from cookery books. She hopes to impart some of her dark sense of humour into her bakes.
Our prediction: Lottie has been revising hard on difficult baking techniques before the show; hopefully this will pay off when faced with tricky challenges. Her pantomime prowess might also come in handy in giving her cakes a dramatic finish.

Want to practice your own baking skills? Check out our guides and recipes…
Baking terms explained
Many Berry's top 10 baking tips
23 essential pieces of baking equipment
Our best ever baking recipes
Video: basic sponge cake