List of The Great British Bake Off finalists (series 1–7)

The Great British Bake Off is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions. It premiered on BBC Two in 2010, then moved to BBC One in 2014, and then moved to Channel 4 in 2017. This list contains sections about annual winners and runners-up who appeared in the first seven series that aired on BBC.
The information seen in tables, including age and occupation, is based on the time of filming.

Series 1 (2010)

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown	Result
Edward "Edd" Kimber	24	Debt collector for Yorkshire Bank	Bradford, West Yorkshire
Ruth Clemens	31	Retail manager/housewife	Poynton, Cheshire
Miranda Gore Browne	37	Food buyer for Marks & Spencer	Midhurst, West Sussex

No baker was awarded Star Baker this season.

Edd Kimber (winner)

Edd Kimber, the winner of the first series in 2010, had previously worked as a debt collector for a bank at the time of original airing. Since then, Kimber has written the following cookbooks: The Boy Who Bakes, Say It with Cake, Patisserie Made Simple, One Tin Bakes, One Tin Bakes Easy, and Small Batch Bakes. He was "resident baker" on The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
He came out while attending university., he was living in Highbury, north London, with his partner Matt.

Ruth Clemens

Ruth Clemens, runner-up of the first series, established her blog The Pink Whisk, which Kate Watson-Smyth of The Independent ranked 49th out of fifty "best food websites" of 2011.

Miranda Gore Browne

Miranda Gore Browne, eliminated in the finals of the first series, was a buyer of Marks & Spencer at the time of original airing. As of 2017, she is a consultant for the National Trust and ambassador for Aga Rangemaster Group. She also hosts baking classes in West Sussex. She wrote her cookbooks Biscuit and Bake Me a Cake As Fast As You Can. She also appeared in a video A Perfect Afternoon Tea.

Series 2 (2011)

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown	Star Baker	Result
Joanne "Jo" Wheatley	41	Housewife	Ongar, Essex	1
Holly Bell	31	Advertising executive	Leicester	2
Mary-Anne Boermans	45	Housewife	Kidderminster, Worcestershire	-

There was no Star Baker on the seventh week as Paul and Mary felt singling out one baker when the results were incredibly close would not be right.

Jo Wheatley (winner)

Joanne Wheatley, the winner of the second series, has started her own cookery school and written two cookbooks A Passion For Baking and Home Baking. She has appeared in The One Show, performed cooking demonstrations on The Alan Titchmarsh Show and written a column in the Sainsbury's magazine. She writes for The Sun and various food publications.
Wheatley is married to Richard, who was sentenced on 20 April 2010 to seven years in prison for a £60-million money laundering scheme. They have three sons together.

Holly Bell

Holly Bell, one of runners-up of the second series, worked in an advertising industry at the time of original airing. She wrote her cookbook ''Recipes from a Normal Mum''

Mary-Anne Boermans

Mary-Anne Boermans, one of runners-up of the second series, had been a housewife at the time of original airing and previously played women's rugby for Wales. She wrote her cookbook Great British Bakes and runs a blog .

Series 3 (2012)

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown	Star Baker	Result
John Whaite	22	Law student	Wigan	1
Brendan Lynch	63	Recruitment consultant	Sutton Coldfield	2
James Morton	21	Medical student	Hillswick, Shetland Islands	3

There was no elimination in the sixth, week after John sustained a major injury to his finger and could not complete the last bake. The judges therefore determined that it would be unfair to eliminate anyone.

John Whaite (winner)

John Whaite, winner of the third series, was a University of Manchester graduate student studying law at the time of the series. Whaite was raised in Wigan. He also has two older sisters. He attended the University of Oxford twice.
After Bake Off, Whaite graduated with a law degree. He then attended the London branch of Le Cordon Bleu.
In January 2016, Whaite established his eponymous cookery school, John Whaite's Kitchen Cookery School, a converted 400-year-old barn on his family's farm in Wrightington, Lancashire. He appeared in ITV's Lorraine, This Morning, What's Cooking?, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Sunday Brunch. He also co-presented ITV's cooking competition series Chopping Block with Rosemary Shrager in 2016–17. He also regularly appeared as a guest of presenter Steph McGovern's Channel 4 talk show Steph's Packed Lunch.
Whaite announced his engagement with his partner Paul Atkins, a graphic designer, in July 2017.
In 2021, Whaite was a contestant on the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, appearing as part of the first ever male same-sex pairing with professional Johannes Radebe. Whaite and Radebe in December 2021 became one of two finalist pairs but then lost the contest to another pair, actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and dancer Giovanni Pernice, via public vote.
Whaite wrote the following cookbooks: John Whaite Bakes, John Whaite Bakes at Home, Perfect Plates in 5 Ingredients, Comfort: Food to Soothe the Soul, and A Flash in the Pan.

Brendan Lynch

Brendan Lynch, runner-up of the third series, was a semi-retired company director at the time of the series. Two years after Bake Off, in 2014, Lynch was treated in four months for his chronic ulcerative colitis, to which he attributed stress during the Bake Off filming and consumption of his own bakes. Since then, he consumed nutritional supplements and reduced use of sugar, lactose and gluten in order to control the condition.
Also, after Bake Off, Lynch taught cookery courses around the UK and baking skills to dementia-diagnosed people with classic recipes that they could remember from years ago, exhibited cooking/baking events at food festivals and cruises, and wrote recipes for British national newspapers. In early 2014, he was a judge at a local junior school's charity baking contest.

James Morton

James Morton, runner-up of the third series, was a University of Glasgow medical student when he first competed. When originally aired, he became a fan favourite for "his relaxed, laid-back approach and love of experimentation". In the finals week, his Signature bake's bottom was "soggy", and he baked five cakes instead of only one as instructed for his Showstopper, both of which failed to impress the judges.
Morton graduated with a medical degree in March 2015, qualifying as a doctor. He also established his blog containing his recipes. He is the son of Tom Morton, a broadcaster.
Morton re-competed against Chetna Makan, Howard Middleton, and Janet Basu in the Boxing Day episode of The Great Christmas Bake Off 2016 special. Makan was crowned the episode's winner.
Morton wrote cookbooks, including Brilliant Bread and Shetland: Cooking on the Edge of the World with his father Tom as co-writer. His book Brilliant Bread won the Cookery Book of the Year Award at the 2014 Guild of Food Writers Awards. The 2018 critically-acclaimed book Shetland was criticised by some over what they perceived as a negative portrayal of Shetlanders, particularly a poem about fishing written by Morton.
Morton also wrote baking columns for a Scottish tabloid Sunday Mail.

Series 4 (2013)

Baker	Age	Occupation	Hometown	Star Baker	Result
Frances Quinn	31	Children's clothes designer	Market Harborough, Leicestershire	1
Ruby Tandoh	20	History of Art and Philosophy student	Southend, Essex	3
Kimberley Wilson	30	Psychologist	London	2

Frances Quinn (winner)

Frances Elizabeth Quinn is a British baker and children's clothing designer from Market Harborough who won the fourth series in 2013. Her first book release was Quinntessential Baking.
Quinn is an ambassador of the Cream Tea Society and is a frequent guest on UK radio and TV. She has appeared on the pages of Vogue, has baked for illustrator Quentin Blake, and has appeared on Pointless Celebrities with 2014 GBBO runner-up Richard Burr. Other clients include Jools Holland and Wimbledon Tennis Club.
In May 2020, it was reported that Quinn had been banned from Waitrose for shoplifting. An officer representing Leicestershire Police stated: "She admitted her involvement to officers and the matter was dealt with by way of a community resolution”.

Ruby Tandoh

Ruby Tandoh, runner-up of the fourth series, was a first-year University College London student, studying history and art at the time of filming. She was also a former model. Her grandfather came from Ghana. She grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Her mother is a school administrator; her father, a Royal Mail staff. She has three younger siblings.
Allegations arose regarding Paul Hollywood's favouritism toward Ruby Tandoh, resulting in personal attacks against Tandoh including by the chef Raymond Blanc. Both Hollywood and Tandoh denied the accusation. After Bake Off, Tandoh has written column articles for The Guardian, The New Yorker, Financial Times, and Vice.
Tandoh wrote cookbooks Crumb, Flavour, Eat Up!, Breaking Eggs, and Cook As You Are. She also wrote an essay "Tikim Nang Tikim" for a collection book In the Kitchen.
Tandoh admitted her many years of eating disorder in a 2016 interview. She also wrote a one-off magazine Do What You Want, whose profits went to charities, including ones tackling eating disorders.
Tandoh came out as bisexual in a 2018 interview with The Times. She married her partner Leah Pritchard in September 2018.