How Contestants Are Keeping In Touch After Great British Bake Off 2021
As much as fans of "The Great British Bake Off" tune in every season to see the incredible bakes and the antics of the hosts, what they really love are the warm and fuzzy feels from watching bakers laugh together and bond each week. In an interview with contestants from past seasons, Insider shares that many "Great British Bake Off" bakers remain friends long after filming ends, and befriend contestants from other seasons, too. Series 4 baker Ali Imdad told them, "Once you're on 'GBBO' you're all sort of a family."
The bakers from the recently concluded Season 12 of "Great British Bake Off" are no exception, with their closeness and comradery on display in every episode. Viewers also learned of the unique requirements for this season's cast and crew. According to iNews, COVID-19 safety protocols dictated that everyone — bakers, production team, hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas, and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith — had to isolate together on-site in a "bubble," with no visits home or outside guests. After six weeks of living together, it's no surprise to learn that this year's bakers are basically BFFs.
On the British TV morning show "Lorraine," season winner Giuseppe Dell'Anno shared that the bakers still chat daily in a WhatsApp group. "They're the first people I speak to in the morning and the last people I speak to in the evening," he said. And the messaging app isn't the only way these bakers stay connected.
From tattoos to road trips, these "GBBO" bakers are clearly besties
There are some official duties that bring the "Great British Bake Off" bakers back together, of course. Vegan baker and fan favorite Freya Cox shared in an Instagram post that they recently reunited on "An Extra Slice", which Channel 4 describes as a "GBBO" recap. Their connections go way beyond media appearances however, and we love seeing how they spend time together. Birmingham Live shares that Cox and fellow baker Lizzie Acker are now best friends who spend all their time at each other's homes. "It doesn't get much more committed than matching tattoos," said Cox (especially when the tattoos are of balloon whisks with each other's names!). In another Instagram post, Cox shared that Acker along with Tom Fletcher, Chigs Parmar, Crystelle Pereira, and Rochica gathered with her in Liverpool for sightseeing, tree decorating, and a charity Santa run.
One of the sweetest moments shared in the last episode of the season was Cox and Acker's road trip across the UK to visit the bakers at their homes shortly after filming wrapped up (via Buzzfeed). Even after six weeks, together these bakers wanted more. The montage shows the pair making stops across the country: They hit the beach in Poole with Maggie (Prue Leith's look-alike,) punting in Kent with Fletcher, playing miniature golf with Parmar in Leicester, and getting ice cream with Jürgen Krauss at the boardwalk in Brighton.
There's even the occasional dance party
One of the best "Great British Bake Off" get-togethers we've seen so far is in an Instagram Reel shared by Chigs Parmar. Most of the bakers, including Giueseppe Dell'Anno, Freya Cox, Rochica, Tom Fletcher, Lizzie Acker, Jürgen Krauss, George Aristidou, and Crystelle Pereira gathered at his house this past fall. The video shows Cox and Acker playing with Parmar's nephew, and the whole crew having dinner and drinks together. The absolute best moment, though, is Pereira leading the bakers through the dance routine for Cameo's funk song "Candy." With carefully balanced drinks in hand and lots of laughter, they strut across the backyard. Dell'Anno is hysterically out of step for most of the routine, and he breaks down laughing by the end.
As iNews shares, this season must have been abnormally grueling for these contestants who endured six weeks away from home and family, added onto the obvious stresses of competition. People Magazine shares that some like Dell'Anno even ran out of clothes because they didn't expect to last as long as they did. However, there was clearly a huge upside as well: That they are now perhaps the most closely-knit family to come out of "Great British Bake Off" to date — and fans are loving it. Based on this success, we can't help but wonder if perhaps future seasons of "Great British Bake Off" should have the bakers bunk together this way, too.