The Great British Baking Show
Food & cookingCooking and food culture at the center.This show: 10/10CozyGentle, low-stakes comfort you can safely relax into.This show: 10/10Reality competitionReal people competing under format rules.This show: 9/10Comfort rewatchThe kind of show people return to endlessly.This show: 9/10Feel-goodReliably uplifting television that leaves you lighter than it found you.This show: 9/10WholesomeKindness and decency at the core, with barely a trace of cynicism.This show: 9/10British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 9/10Easy watchingLow-demand television where half your attention is enough.This show: 9/10
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The Great British Baking Show Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 | E14 | E15 | E16 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.9 | ||||||||||
| S2 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.2 | ||||||
| S3 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 6.5 | |
| S4 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.8 | |
| S5 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.8 | |
| S6 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.7 | |
| S7 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.5 | ||||
| S8 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 6.7 | |||||
| S9 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.3 | |||||
| S10 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8.2 | |||||
| S11 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.7 | |||||
| S12 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.7 | |||||
| S13 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 7.4 | |||||
| S14 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | |||||
| S15 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.3 | ||||||
| S16 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8.2 | |||||
| S17 |
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About
"Competitive baking with kindness instead of cruelty"
A rotating cast of amateur bakers compete in a tent on the English countryside, tackling technical challenges and showstoppers judged on taste and technique. Each episode narrows the field until one baker is crowned champion. The show's charm comes from its gentleness: genuine warmth between competitors, dry wit from hosts and judges, and an almost complete absence of manufactured drama. It's cozy, unhurried, and strangely soothing, the kind of program you can watch to unwind rather than to be thrilled. Baking mishaps and soggy bottoms provide gentle stakes rather than cutthroat tension.
Watch it for
the rare reality competition where contestants genuinely root for each other's success.
Maybe skip if
you need high-stakes conflict or fast editing to stay engaged.
Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.
All Seasons
▶
Series 12010
7.552576h 45m
Series 1 of The Great British Bake Off, aired on BBC 2, saw ten home bakers take part in a bake-off to test every aspect of their baking skills as they battled to be crowned the Great British Bake Off’s best amateur baker. Each week the nationwide tour saw keen bakers put through three challenges in a particular discipline. The rounds took place in various locations across the UK following a theme, for example, the episode on puddings would take place in Bakewell, bread baking would take place near Sandwich. This first series had a voiceover by Stephen Noonan; for the subsequent series this role was taken by the on-screen presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
▶
Series 22011
7.45521110h 41m
In this year's series of The Great British Bake Off twelve amateur bakers started the competition and they were gradually eliminated during each round of the contest. Unlike series 1, this year the competition was held in a single location - in the ground of Valentines Mansion, a 17th-century mansion house in Redbridge. In addition to their on-screen presenting roles, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins also took over the narration of the show, which in series 1 had been done by Stephen Noonan. Series 2 also introduced the "star baker" award for the most impressive performer each week.
Three and a half thousand people applied for the competition, and 12 were selected. Each episode was filmed over two 14-hour days.
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Series 32012
7.79831615h 27m
The third series of The Great British Bake Off began airing on Tuesday 14 August 2012. The series was filmed at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.
Seven thousand applied for the competition and twelve contestants were chosen.
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Series 42013
7.71K1615h 37m
The fourth series of The Great British Bake Off began airing on 20 August 2013. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins again presented the show and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. As with series three, the competition was held at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.
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Series 52014
7.91K1615h 17m
The fifth series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on 6 August 2014, with twelve contestants. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins presented the show and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. Twelve contestants competed in this series, and the competition was held in Welford Park in Berkshire.
The programme was moved from BBC Two to BBC One starting this year, but the Masterclass episodes remained on BBC Two. A companion series, The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, hosted by comedian Jo Brand, started this year on BBC Two.
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Series 62015
7.81K1615h 31m
The sixth series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on 5 August 2015, with twelve contestants competing to be the series 6 winner. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins presented the show, and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. The competition was held in the ground of Welford Park, Berkshire for a second year.
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Series 72016
7.79981312h 35m
The seventh series of The Great British Bake Off aired from 24 August 2016, with twelve contestants competing to be crowned the series 7 winner.
This series was the last to be broadcast on BBC One, as the production company Love Productions opted to move the show to Channel 4. As such, it was also the last series to feature Sue Perkins, Mel Giedroyc, and Mary Berry.
In the United States, the seventh series was broadcast as the fourth season on PBS and streamed as Collection 4 on Netflix.
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Season 8
7.41K129h 57m
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Season 9
7.51K1211h 21m
▶
Season 10
7.61K1211h 29m
▶
Season 11
7.41K1211h 58m
▶
Season 12
7.61K1211h 54m
▶
Season 13
7.41K1211h 57m
▶
Season 14
7.91K1211h 55m
▶
Season 15
7.98091212h 7m
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Season 16
7.8889129h 59m
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Season 17
—010
Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Paul Hollywood Self - Judge, Self - Presenter, Self
Noel Fielding Self - Presenter
Prue Leith Self - Judge
Mary Berry Self - Judge, Self - Presenter, Self
Sue Perkins Self - Presenter
Mel Giedroyc Self - Presenter
Alison Hammond Self - Presenter, Self - Narrator
Matt Lucas Self - Presenter
Sandi Toksvig Self - Presenter
Rupert Penry-Jones Self - Narrator
James Morton Self
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