Spoilers for The Great British Bake Off series 17, episode 5 (Dessert Week), shown on Channel 4 on Tuesday 20 October. On Netflix in the US it’s The Great British Baking Show Collection 14, which runs three days behind.
The short version: Connie was Star Baker and Yannis was the fifth baker to leave the tent, Channel 4 confirmed (Channel 4).
Dessert Week is usually a good one, and this year Channel 4 threw in a first: a staggered-start signature. The bakers made self-saucing puddings. Nigella set the technical, a traditional British classic. Then came the showstopper, a dessert trolley loaded with classic retro puddings.
Connie’s week
Connie is 63, from London, and works as an NHS hospital discharge lead. Channel 4 calls her “the Cake Lady,” and she’s known for her carrot cake. This week it was Noel Fielding who got to tell her she was Star Baker.
Yannis says goodbye
Alison Hammond had the job of telling Yannis, the 28-year-old paediatric doctor from London, that he was going home.
“Thank you, it has been a pleasure,” he said. “I grew up watching this programme and being here for five weeks is surreal.”
His Channel 4 exit interview is lovely. He said his best moment was getting to hug Nigella and Paul, and his favourite bake was the Audience Choice Week cheesecake he made with his sister. He was honest about the technicals, too: “I aged approximately five years during every Technical.” He also admitted to “a strange sense of relief,” because he’d been filming while working long hospital shifts and nights. Next, he wants to use baking to raise money and awareness for childhood hunger.
Pastry Week is next
With five bakers gone, seven are left. Week 6 is Pastry Week on Tuesday 27 October on Channel 4. TV listings put it at 8pm, with Channel 4+1 an hour later. The listing promises savoury pies, a Polish choux dessert and “decorative pie pandemonium” in the showstopper (onTVnow listing).
In the US, Netflix’s Friday schedule puts that episode on Friday, October 30.
All twelve bakers and where to watch are in our Bake Off series 17 guide. The rest is on the Bake Off hub.
Sources
- Channel 4, “The Great British Bake Off: The fifth baker leaves the tent” (21 October 2026): channel4.com
- Channel 4, “Meet the Bakers” (September 2026): channel4.com
- onTVnow, Channel 4+1 listing for Pastry Week (27 October 2026): ontvnow.co.uk
