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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Jack Shepherd

Great British Bake Off 2018 LIVE: 12 new contestants compete to be crowned star baker during biscuit week

Britain’s most beloved baking show is finally back! Back Offreturns tonight (28 August) with a batch of new contestants hoping to win over Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith’s taste buds.

The second series to air on Channel 4 kicks off with biscuit week and sees the 12 newcomers tasked with creating a set of traditional biscuits inspired by something personal to them. A gentle enough start – unlike the technical challenge, which features some devilishly tricky marshmallow-making. 

The Independent will be live-blogging all the action from the Berkshire-based tent below. Follow along below – please give the live-blog a moment to load.

Live Updates

15:30
Warning: Prue begins by promising to be much “tougher” this series. 

“I felt a lot more relaxed and confident this time around. I have been straighter, found it easier to say ‘that’s not a proper bake’,” she said during a Q&A last week.
 
“Last series I said lots of things that were nice before anything nasty. Paul is always saying ‘Don’t talk around so much, just say it.’”
14:51
 
Yes, that's Noel and Sandi dressed as Doc and Marty from Back to the Future. And yes, they do wear those outfits during tonight's episode. 
14:01
Hello and welcome to The Independent's Bake Off live-blog, bringing you all the latest from Channel 4's version of the beloved show. First, make sure you catch up on everything we know about the first episode below by reading the spoiler-free article below...
 

For those who cannot wait for the series to start, The Independentrecently ran through everything we learnt from a preview screening of the first episode, including some tantalising snippets of news straight from the mouths of Prue and Paul. (Spoiler: Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding are back and better than ever.)

You can also learn more about each of the new contestants by flicking through the below gallery.

Bake Off begins on Channel 4 at 8pm and will air every Tuesday at the same time.

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