The Great British Bake Off

***The Great British Bake Off***, often referred to as ***Bake Off*** or ***GBBO***, is a British television baking competition produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress a group of judges with their baking skills, with a contestant being eliminated in each round, with the winner being selected from the remaining contestants that make it to the finals. The show's first episode was aired on 17 August 2010, with its first four series broadcast on BBC Two, until its growing popularity led the BBC to move it to BBC One for the next three series. After its seventh series, Love Productions signed a three-year deal with Channel 4 to produce the show for the broadcaster.

The programme was originally presented by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood the judges. The current presenters are Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig with Hollywood and Prue Leith on the judging panel.

## Background

### Development

The idea of the baking competition was conceived by producer Anna Beattie after she spoke to a friend who had seen 'bake-offs' in America. Beattie was also inspired by village fete baking competitions; she said: "I loved that idea of village fetes and an old-fashioned baking competition with people who only wanted to bake a good cake." However, Beattie failed to interest any channel in the idea for four years. In early 2009, they pitched the idea to Janice Hadlow, the then controller of BBC Two. The pitch was successful, and Hadlow and the Commissioning Editor Charlotte Moore commissioned the programme, which was then developed over the next six months. The development team first selected Mary Berry as a judge, and following an audition Paul Hollywood was also appointed. Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc were approached to be presenters of the show.

### Broadcast and personnel changes

On 17 August 2010, the first episode of *The Great British Bake Off* was shown on BBC Two. It stayed on BBC Two for four years, grew in popularity and become the most popular programme on that channel. In its fifth series it was moved to BBC One where it stayed for three years. It was the most-watched programme on British television in 2015 and 2016. Following extended negotiations, Love Productions announced that the seventh series of the show would be the last broadcast by the BBC. On 12 September 2016, Love agreed to a three-year deal to broadcast the show on Channel 4. Giedroyc and Perkins subsequently announced that they would not be returning when the show moves to its new network. On 22 September, Berry announced that she would also be leaving the show when it moved to Channel 4, while Hollywood later announced he would stay. In March 2017, it was announced that Prue Leith would join Hollywood as judge, while Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig would take over as presenters.

## Format

The programme operates on a weekly elimination process to find the best all-around baker from the contestants, who are all amateurs. The applicants to the show are assessed by a researcher, followed by an audition in London with two of their bakes. They then undergo a screen test and an interview with a producer. A second audition involves the applicants baking two recipes for the judges in front of the cameras. Ten contestants were chosen for the first series, twelve for the following two series, thirteen for the fourth, and back to twelve from series five onwards.

In each episode, the amateur bakers are given three challenges: a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a show-stopper. The three challenges take place over two days, and the filming takes up to 16 hours a day. The contestants are assessed by the judges who then choose a "Star Baker" for the week (introduced in series 2), and a contestant is also eliminated. In the final round, three bakers are left and a winner is chosen from the three.

Signature Challenge
This challenge is for the amateur bakers to show off their tried-and-tested recipes for bakes they might make for their friends and family.
Technical Challenge
This challenge requires enough technical knowledge and experience to produce a certain finished product when given only limited – or even minimal – instructions. The bakers are all given the same recipe and are not told beforehand what the challenge will be. The finished products are judged blind and ranked from worst to best.
Showstopper Challenge
This challenge is for the bakers to show off their skills and talent. The judges favour a bake that is both of a professional appearance but is also outstanding in taste.
In the first series, the location of the cast and crew moves from town to town each week, but starting from the second series, the competition is held in one location in a specially constructed marquee. Interspersed in the programme are the background of the contestants as well as video vignettes on the history of baking. What each baker intends to bake during a particular challenge is illustrated using animated graphics. These graphics have been created by illustrator Tom Hovey since the show's inception in 2010.