Junior Bake Off 2023: Channel 4 release date of GBBO spin-off, contestants - and how to apply for next series

Comedian Harry Hill returns as the host of the Great British Bake Off spin-off, Junior Bake Off - he has helmed the series since it moved to Channel 4 in 2019. Hill is best known for presenting You’ve Been Framed and TV Burp. He will be joined by judges Liam Charles and Ravneet Gill.

Charles has plenty of experience in the Bake Off tent - he was a contestant on season eight of GBBO, and was knocked out of the competition in week eight. Charles has been a judge on Bake Off Junio since the Channel 4 move.Gill is a pastry chef and food columnist - she has written for The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph - she joined the series in 2020, replacing Prue Leith.

In the new season of the show, 16 young bakers from across the country will be put to the test in a series of tough baking challenges - they will have no help during the baking process, and must rely on their own skills in the kitchen.

Who are the contestants on Junior Bake Off?

Heat One

• Alfie, 9, from East Sussex - enjoys: maths, football, magic tricks, and breakdancing
• Annabel A, 11, from Belfast - enjoys gardening, gymnastics and speed-skating
• Charlie, 9, from East Sussex - enjoys gardening, tack running, and football
• Dolly, 10, from Cheshire - enjoys swimming, football and basketball.
• Ezekiel, 12, from Leeds - enjoys ballet, tap dancing, beatboxing, F1, and coding
• Imogen, 9, from Bath - enjoys surfing, bodyboarding and hockey
• Oliver, 11, from Sheffield - enjoys playing the piano, street dance, and musical theatre
• Sofia, 10, from Lancashire - enjoys hockey, and writing poems, songs and fantasy stories

Heat Two

• Amelia, 12, from Cranberry - enjoys gymnastics and trains for 20 hours a week with the National Development Squad
• Annabel B, 9, from Essex - enjoys gymnastics, horse riding, and spending time with animals
• Harrison, 10, from Yorkshire - enjoys ballet, musical theatre and dreams of one day heading into space as an astronaut!
• Jamie, 10, from Warwickshire - enjoys going fishing and being in the Cub scouts
• Mya, 10, from London - enjoys art, gymnastics, reading, and taking care of her houseplants
• Poppy, 11, from Sunderland - enjoys reading and writing and would like to own her own bookshop
• Thomas, 12, from London - enjoys fencing, playing tennis, running and playing the clarinet
• Tristan, 10, from Essex - enjoys singing, dancing, acting, playing the piano, and Lego

When is Junior Bake Off on TV?

Junior Bake Off will air on Channel 4 on Monday 16 January at 5pm. There are 15 episodes in the new season and they will air at the same time on weeknights over the next three weeks. Episodes will be available to watch on All 4 shortly after they have first aired.

How can you apply to be on Junior Bake Off?

Applications have not yet opened for the next season of Junior Bake Off. Applicants must be between 9 and 12 years old and have written permission from a parent or guardian to take part.

Applicants must also be available for the period the show will be filmed - Junior Bake Off is filmed during the summer holidays. The application form from a previous season stated that applicants must be enthusiastic about baking, be able to bake different types of food without help, be able to take constructive feedback, and be comfortable being filmed.