Bake Off winners – what they did next

There have now been 10 bakers to triumph on The Great British Bake Off and number 11 will be crowned at the end of the new series.

Previous winners have followed their time on the show with successful careers in the culinary world, while one has even been awarded an MBE.

Ahead of the 11th season, we look at where the winners are now:

Series 1 – Edd Kimber

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

After his win he left his job and has published cookbooks including Say It With Cake, The Boy Who Bakes, Patisserie Made Simple and One Tin Bakes.

Series 2 – Joanne Wheatley

The second series in 2011 ended with Joanne Wheatley being crowned the 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

John Whaite took the title in the third series of Bake Off and went on to study 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.

Whaite 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

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

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

Series 5 – Nancy Birtwhistle

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

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

Since her triumph 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.

Hussain was invited to bake a cake for 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.

Last year Hussain was honoured with an MBE for services to broadcasting and to the culinary arts.

Series 7 – Candice Brown

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.

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

Series 8 – Sophie Faldo

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.

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

Series 9 – Rahul Mandal

Engineering researcher Dr Rahul Mandal was victorious in series nine.

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.

Season 10 – David Atherton

The most recent winner was David Atherton, who made history as the first person to take the Bake Off crown without having been named star baker during the programme.

He started writing a column for The Guardian newspaper in January, sharing healthy eating tips with readers.

Atherton also released My First Cook Book: Bake, Make and Learn to Cook in August.