How to apply for The Great British Bake Off 2020 – application deadline, selection process and criteria
BAKE Off 2019 is back on our screens VERY SOON but if you’re already chomping at the bit to show off your baking skills in the 2020 series then you may want to read on.
If you reckon you have what it takes in the kitchen, then there’s only one way to find out how – and that’s by applying to The Great British Bake Off 2020.
How to apply for The Great British Bake Off 2020?
Considering we are yet to meet the brand new batch of bakers as the show hasn’t even hit our screens yet – producers pretty much already have their hands full!
So don’t hold your breath if you’re eagerly waiting to apply for next year’s show as it’s likely that applications won’t open until after this series has aired.
If next year follows the same format as previous years then applications will likely open in November and close in January – so make sure you don’t miss that window!
Applications for series 10 closed on Sunday, January 6, 2019 but if you were one of many who backed their baking skills then you probably applied at the official website here.
According to the site, producers would have got in touch by Friday, February 22, 2019 if your application was successful.
So, again, you can likely find out if you made it through to the famous tent by February.
What is the criteria to get on The Great British Bake Off?
Previously, before you could consider applying for Bake Off, you must have ensured you fit the following criteria:
- Be over the age of 16 on January 1, 2019
- Be a resident of the UK (including Isle of Man and Channel Islands)
- Have never worked as a full-time baker, cook or chef
- Do not have an NVQ or other qualification in baking, cooking, food production, catering or food preparation – unless obtained over ten years ago.
- Be able to commit to all filming days – these will be confirmed if your application is successful.
- Not be closely related to a member of the Channel 4 or Love Productions – or anyone else involved in the programme
In the past the application form could be completed online or downloaded and completed in writing.
What’s on the application form for The Great British Bake Off?
Mat Riley, who took part in series six, said the application was a long process.
He said: “I did (my form) before Christmas and I think we started filming in May – it’s a long process.”
According to the baker, the application form is about four or five pages of questions and asks all sorts of technical things about your bakes.
You’ll also need to send in some pictures of your bakes, so setting up an Instagram page to show off your culinary delights may be useful.
What is The Great British Bake Off selection process?
Following the application form, contestant Mat said he had a chat over the phone before going along to meet the production team.
He said: “You had to take two bakes – something savoury and something sweet.”
Following this, there is an “audition day” where applicants are placed in a commercial kitchen and required to do a blind technical challenge.
This is to test baking ability as well as monitor how you act on screen.
More on Bake Off
What happens in the final stage of The Great British Bake Off application process?
Mat says all correspondence between yourself and the production team is done over the phone, and this is how you will be informed if you have been successful.
Speaking to The Telegraph, series five contestant Jordan Cox said the wait to find out if he had been successful felt like “forever”.
He said: “I had to wait so long to find out that I was on the show, it was at least six weeks after the final audition, which in TV land is a very long time.”
To future applicants, Jordan advises: “Be yourself. If you don’t they will soon find you out.
“The best advice I could give, and the route I would take if I could go on the show again is: ‘keep it simple stupid!'”