The stars of Great British Bake Off: Uni student Rowan who baked his own three-tier 21st birthday cake, self-professed untidy baker Dana and show mega fan Keith

The Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 on Tuesday night, with a whole new crop of cake creators.

This series welcomes the tent’s first ever deaf contestant – Tasha from Bristol – as well as student Rowan, 21, who baked his own three-tier 21st birthday cake and chemist Josh – a stickler for the right measurements.

A perusal of the baking hopefuls’ Instagram accounts reveals a plethora of jaw-dropping creations from their home kitchens.

So who will be bringing that flair to the famous tent and receive the winning apron, as well as a Hollywood Handshake? 

Student Rowan already has a life motto to apply to his bakes – ‘Go big, or go home.’

The English Literature student loves to wow his uni housemates with his elaborate creations for their birthdays and when it came to his own 21st celebrations there was only one person he trusted to bake a three-tier, 12-layer extravaganza – himself.

Rowan has already published his own cookbook named The Salubrious Student, which he explains ‘relies on cheap, affordable, accessible ingredients’.

The third-year student loves hosting dinner parties with his uni pals and told his student magazine Viva Voce that he decided to publish his cookbook when ‘holiday loneliness’ set in during his breaks from uni. 

‘We go from always talking to someone our own age to just being with our parents. Especially for me being an only child, it’s difficult… It was a little passion project of mine.’

Rowan is also a passionate photographer and snaps incredible photos of his bakes for his book and his social media. 

Like Rowan, database administrator Dana’s passion for baking also started at a young age.

At the age of 16, she identified a gap in her family’s traditionally Indian culinary repertoire. 

As a self-professed untidy baker, Dana would avoid stepping on her mum’s toes in the kitchen by catching the bus to her dad’s house to indulge her need to experiment with her bakes. 

Now she has a kitchen of her own, Dana has become the family’s go-to celebration cake-maker, sharing photos of her rustic bakes, and her proud family, on her Instagram account. 

Josh, 27, from Leicestershire is a chemist by trade and brings his scientist’s precision and keenness to experiment into the kitchen, taking careful notes on each part of the baking process and perfecting all his techniques for gorgeous results. 

He likes to take his inspiration from old baking books, reinventing classics to give them a modern twist, often by introducing alternative flavours and including the seasonal fruits and vegetables from his kitchen garden. 

Josh has been playing rugby for his local team for more than 15 years, and once a month he bakes lots of treats to reward his teammates after a rigorous training session. 

There are also a few Bake Off megafans in the mix – including Keith, 60, a chartered accountant who apparently owns cookbooks written by five different former Bake Off contestants.

To give himself a challenge, Keith recently returned to the baking books of the early 1970s to attempt recipes that were once ‘beyond’ him. 

Meanwhile The Great British Bake Off presenters have learned sign language as the show welcomes its first ever deaf contestant. 

Tasha, 27, is a participation officer from Bristol and will be joining the show with her BSL interpreter, Daryl. 

She said: ‘When I had the Zoom call to tell me I was one of the 12, I cried. Daryl also cried. We were a mess.’ 

To prepare for Tasha’s time on the show, Dame Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding and his new co-host Alison Hammond have all learned basic sign language. 

A keen horserider, Tasha shares her passion for travel on her Instagram account as well as her home bakes.

Civil engineering resource planner Dan also has a passion for travelling, with his interest in cooking beginning when he explored South America in 2007.

When he’s not baking, he loves to play football with his two young sons, work out in the gym, or forage for edible treats in the countryside around his home. 

He is also a keen home brewer. 

Intelligence analyst, Sri Lankan-born Saku places the traditional flavours of her heritage at the heart of her baking – particularly the curry spices, which she claims make for the best pie fillings. 

Her Instagram account is crammed full of delicious Sri Lankan dishes as well as her sweeter bakes. 

At her family home in Sri Lanka, Saku didn’t have an oven until she was 18, so she turned to baking only when she moved with her husband to the UK, in 2003, and particularly when she became a mum – rustling up treats for her children’s lunchboxes by replicating the snacks she saw in the supermarket. 

Yorkshire-born Abbi is a vegetable grower and delivery driver, and first learned to bake alongside her mother, honing those early skills during her teens, when she became enthralled by the Victorian era and especially the traditional bakes of the time – steamed puddings, fruit cakes and more. 

Now she takes her inspiration from her environment and the beautiful English countryside around her home. 

A lover of the great outdoors, she forages for seasonal ingredients – the bigger and bolder, the better – and puts her homegrown veg to good use. 

The Great British Bake Off kicks off on Tuesday September 26 on Channel 4.