Quick answer: In the UK, The Great British Bake Off series 17 premiered Tuesday, September 22, 2026, on Channel 4. In the US, the same series is The Great British Baking Show Collection 14 on Netflix, which premiered Friday, September 25, with a new episode each Friday. Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond present. Paul Hollywood judges with Nigella Lawson, who has replaced Prue Leith. There are 12 bakers and 10 episodes (Channel 4; Netflix Tudum).
Netflix is about three days behind Channel 4. If you are watching in the US, skip the “where the UK series stands” section until you have caught up. The rest of the tent is on our Bake Off hub.
The two names
Channel 4 calls it The Great British Bake Off. Netflix in the US calls this run The Great British Baking Show Collection 14. It is one series. Collection 14 is the US label for the 2026 series, not a different set of bakers. Netflix Tudum credits the photographs to Patch Dolan / Channel 4.
Where to watch
In the UK: Channel 4, on Tuesdays, with catch-up on Channel 4’s streaming service. Radio Times reported the premiere for 8pm on September 22. Channel 4’s own notes of later weeks say the episodes aired on Tuesday night, without reprinting a clock time, so this guide is not pinning every week to 8pm.
In the US: Netflix. Tudum says Collection 14 premiered September 25 and that new episodes arrive every Friday until the finale. Counted from that premiere, the fifth episode is Friday, October 23. Tudum says the episodes drop on that Friday schedule. It does not print a separate clock time on the cast page this guide used.
Channel 4 says applications are open for series 18 at applyforbakeoff.co.uk.
Who is in the tent, besides the bakers
Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding present. Paul Hollywood returns as a judge. Nigella Lawson joins him. She told Netflix, in a statement first posted on Instagram: “Of course, it’s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I’m also bubbling with excitement.” Prue Leith had said she was leaving to work less. Channel 4 has set 10 episodes, which it describes as thirty new challenges (Netflix Tudum; Channel 4).
Channel 4’s week 3 note calls that episode Audience Choice Week, the first time viewers set the challenges. The signature brought a guest baker in for each contestant, the technical was a mystery box, and the showstopper was wearable bakes (Channel 4).
The 12 bakers
Channel 4 introduced them on September 8, 2026. Ages and jobs below are from that release. The short lines are compressed from Channel 4’s own bios, not from social media.
| Baker | Age | From | What they do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clara | 24 | Hertfordshire | Marketing graduate. Moved from Aveiro, Portugal, at 18. She bakes colourful cakes and Portuguese classics, including tarte de nata. |
| Connie | 63 | London | NHS hospital discharge lead. Channel 4 calls her “the Cake Lady.” She is known for carrot cake and keeps fruit soaking in rum, wine, and cinnamon. |
| Danni | 25 | Dorset | HGV service centre administrator. Forages for ingredients such as magnolia, chestnut, and dandelion, and also bakes with ube and red bean. |
| Gabe | 32 | West Midlands | Artist and drag king. Performs as Blü Romantic and describes their baking as “gorgeous but very homemade,” with a meringue obsession. |
| Gary | 67 | Nottinghamshire | Retired garment technologist. Took up baking about five years ago. He has spoken about beating prostate cancer and raising money for cancer charities with bake sales. |
| Molly | 31 | London | Accessibility coordinator at a disability charity. She bakes in a traditional style and is a musical-theatre and Formula 1 fan. |
| Moyin | 22 | Essex | Political economy student and competitive sprinter. Channel 4 says he was U20 county champion in the 100m. His flavours draw on Nigerian cooking, including grains of paradise and groundnuts. |
| Mo | 21 | West Midlands | Law student, and the youngest baker in the tent. He started with mug cakes and now mixes Asian flavours with British classics. |
| Nikki | 50 | London | Advertising post-producer. She started baking with her mum at seven and recently walked 100 miles for breast cancer research. |
| Shannon | 29 | Gloucestershire | Project planner. She wants to bring “a little forest magic” to the tent. Her style, in her words via Channel 4, is whimsical, quirky, and rustic. |
| Tom | 25 | West Yorkshire | Hairdresser. He calls himself a “Northern Diva” and learned brandy snaps at his nan’s. |
| Yannis | 28 | London | Paediatric doctor. Born in Vienna, he moved to London at 11. He has said he is challenging the idea that Bangladeshi men do not belong in the kitchen. Watching the show also helped him learn English. |
Source: Channel 4, meet the bakers. Netflix Tudum prints the same lineup.
Where the UK series stands
Spoilers for Channel 4 viewers, and for Netflix viewers who are not three days behind. Skip this if you are on the US schedule and have not seen the October 23 episode.
Channel 4’s note on October 21 says Tuesday’s episode was Dessert Week. The bakers made self-saucing puddings on a staggered start, a technical Nigella set, and a showstopper of retro puddings. Noel Fielding named Connie Star Baker. Alison Hammond told Yannis he was leaving. Channel 4 says he was the fifth baker out of the series (Channel 4).
Yannis told Channel 4 it had been “a pleasure,” and that five weeks in the tent, after growing up watching the show, felt surreal. He said a favourite challenge was the Audience Choice Week cheesecake, which he baked with his sister.
Channel 4’s earlier notes fill in part of that count. In week 3, Audience Choice Week, Clara was Star Baker and Shannon was the second baker to leave the series (Channel 4). In week 4, Bread Week, Tom was Star Baker and Molly was the third baker to leave. The same note says Nikki also left that week for family reasons. Alison Hammond, as Channel 4 quotes her, said Nikki had to go home, and stepped in to present Nikki’s garlic bread for judging. Nikki later told Channel 4 that her mum had taken a turn for the worse, and that being with her mattered more than finishing the week (Channel 4).
Channel 4 calls Shannon the second departure and Yannis the fifth. It does not, in these notes, name the first baker to leave. This guide is not filling that name in from recap sites.
Netflix’s Friday schedule means UK week 5 arrives in the US on October 23. Do not read a US recap early if you are avoiding that.
Sources
- Channel 4, “Meet the Bakers” (September 8, 2026): channel4.com
- Channel 4, “The Bake Is Back” trailer note (August 25, 2026): channel4.com
- Channel 4, fifth baker leaves, Dessert Week (October 21, 2026): channel4.com
- Channel 4, Shannon leaves in week 3: channel4.com
- Channel 4, Molly leaves in week 4: channel4.com
- Netflix Tudum, Collection 14 bakers, release date, and Nigella Lawson: netflix.com
- Radio Times, premiere date and the series 17 lineup: radiotimes.com
