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Great British Bake Off: Where are the winners now?

Winning the popular show can lead to lucrative publishing and TV deals.

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Nadiya Hussain

There have been nine winners of the Great British Bake Off so far, who have triumphed over the competition with their biscuits, cakes, pies and patisserie.

As the show returns for a tenth series, we look at where all the winners are now.

Series 1 – Edd Kimber

Edd Kimber
Edd Kimber (Matt Crossick/PA)

The first-ever series of the Great British Bake Off was won by debt collector Edd Kimber in 2010.

Since winning the show he has left his job and published three cookbooks, Say It With Cake, The Boy Who Bakes and Patisserie Made Simple.

Series 2 – Joanne Wheatley

GBBO winners
Joanne Wheatley (second left) with other winners Frances Quinn (left) John Whaite (second right) and Edd Kimber (right) (BBC Good Food Magazine)

The second series in 2011 saw Joanne Wheatley crowned winner.

Since then she has started her own cookery school and had two books published, A Passion For Baking and Home Baking.

She has also appeared on The One Show and performed cooking demonstrations on The Alan Titchmarsh Show.

Series 3 – John Whaite

National Television Awards 2013 – Arrivals – London
John Whaite with co-star Cathryn Dresser (Ian West/PA)

John Whaite was the winner of the third series of Bake Off and after his victory he studied for a diploma in patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in London.

He now appears as a chef on ITV’s Lorraine, This Morning and Sunday Brunch, and presented the ITV cooking show Chopping Block with Rosemary Shrager.

He also opened a cookery school in Lancashire and has published four books – John Whaite Bakes, John Whaite Bakes At Home, Perfect Plates In 5 Ingredients and Comfort: Food to soothe the soul.

Series 4 – Frances Quinn

Great British Bake Off
Frances Quinn (BBC)

In 2013 Frances Quinn was named the champion of the fourth series of the show.

She now regularly takes part in cookery demonstrations and food festivals, and released her first book Quinntessential Baking.

Series 5 – Nancy Birtwhistle

The Great British Bake Off 2016
Nancy Birtwhistle (Mark Bourdillon/BBC/Love Productions)

Nancy Birtwhistle was a practice manager at a GP surgery before she won the fifth series of Great British Bake Off in 2014.

She now contributes to newspapers and gives baking demonstrations around the country.

Series 6 – Nadiya Hussain

Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations
Nadiya Hussain with the Queen and her birthday cake (John Stillwell/PA)

The winner of the show’s sixth series, Nadiya Hussain, has proven to be one of its biggest stars.

Since she triumphed in the competition in 2015, she has hosted a slew of programmes for the BBC including The Chronicles Of Nadiya, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and Nadiya’s Family Favourites.

She was also the co-presenter of The Big Family Cooking Showdown with Zoe Ball and has been a guest panellist on Loose Women.

She was invited to bake a cake of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and in 2017 was named by Debrett’s as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK.

She has published a string of books, including Nadiya’s Kitchen and Bake Me A Story, as well as the novel The Secret Lives Of The Amir Sisters, and also launched a homeware collection.

Series 7 – Candice Brown

The Great British Bake Off 2016
Candice Brown (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Series seven winner Candice Brown, who won legions of fans with her trademark lipsticks, has become a familiar presence on TV since her victory in 2016.

She makes appearances on This Morning and released a cookbook called Comfort: delicious bakes and family treats.

In 2018 she took part in Dancing On Ice, where she was partnered with Matt Evers but was the first to be eliminated.

Earlier this year she returned to the tent for The Great New Year’s Bake Off but lost out to series 8 runner-up Steven Carter-Bailey.

Series 8 – Sophie Faldo

The Great British Bake Off
Sophie Faldo (Mark Bourdillon/Channel 4)

The eighth series of the show and the first to air on Channel 4 was won by former British Army officer Sophie Faldo, but her victory was overshadowed by a blunder by new judge Prue Leith.

Due to a timezone mix-up, Leith accidentally tweeted a congratulatory message hours before the episode aired.

She has since set up Sophie Faldo Couture Cakes, designing cakes and desserts for weddings and events.

Series 9 – Rahul Mandal

The Great British Bake Off 2018 Book Signing – London
Rahul Mandal (Steve Parsons/PA)

The most recent series of the show was won by engineering researcher Dr Rahul Mandal.

The shy baker, who was born in India, came to the UK in 2010 on a scholarship to study for his PhD.

After winning Bake Off he became a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ambassador to help inspire the next generation of engineers.

He has also appeared on This Morning and signed as a columnist for The Times Magazine.

The new series of The Great British Bake Off airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday August 27 at 8pm.

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