The Great British Bake Off 2023: The show’s most successful contestants including Nadiya Hussain & John Whaite

Fans can rejoice as The Great British Bake Off will be back on our screens soon, with the show, which showcases the best amateur bakers in Britain, expected to return to Channel 4 on Tuesday, September 26.

Recently, the class of 2023 was announced with the bookies predicting that 27-year-old Josh,  a chemist by trade, who currently works as a post-doctoral research associate will win the show.

Bake Off has undergone some major changes for the upcoming season. One of those is scrapping their nation-themed challengers after facing backlash following the week in the previous series.

The show had a Japan week in 2020, a German week in 2021, and faced some high profile backlash after Mexican week last year. Following the backlash the episode received, judge Paul Hollywood said he was ‘gutted’.

After Mexican week, the show received complaints related to casual racism and stereotypes because the hosts wore sombreros, used maracas and spoke in accents. There were also complaints that some featured dishes were not authentic.

Hollywood said: "I’d literally come back from Mexico about three weeks before we filmed the episode. I was all over the place, and we set the challenges based on what I’d seen there. The challenges were very good, and everyone did a good job."

As the 2023 cast was announced, we thought we would take a trip down memory lane and see who the most successful contestants from years gone by, according to Business Name Generator.

Nadiya Hussain - 2015 winner

Nadiya Hussain is arguably the most recognisable name and successful contestant to have appeared on The Great British Bake Off. She has made herself a hugely successful brand, and is thought to have a net worth of approximately £3.7 million.

Since winning the show’s sixth series, the Luton-born baker has hosted multiple culinary documentaries on the BBC, including Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, and she has also appeared regularly on the BBC’s The One Show, as well as ITV’s Loose Women.

To date, the 38-year-old baker has released 16 books, including 8 cookbooks, 4 children’s cookbooks and 3 fiction stories. Her 2016 release Bake Me A Story was nominated for Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

John Whaite - 2012 winner

Since winning the show some 11 years ago now, John’s TV career has gone from strength to strength, with guest appearances on a range of daytime television shows, such as Steph’s Packed Lunch, This Morning and Sunday Brunch, plus a stint as the resident chef on Lorraine.

Whaite also took part in the 19th series of Strictly Come Dancing, and made television history by being part of the first-ever male same-sex partnership on the show. Whaite reached the Strictly final, but missed out on first place to the actress Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Frances Quinn - 2013 Winner

After winning the fourth series of Bake Off in 2013, Frances Quinn released her cookbook Quinntessential Baking, which has sold thousands of copies both in the UK and the USA.

A decade after first appearing on the show, Quinn continues to make huge profits as a professional baker, by making customised cakes and biscuits for companies, charities and huge events.

Some of Quinn’s most famous custom-made bakes include a giant French Fancy cake for illustrator Quentin Blake, a giant Club biscuit for indie band Bombay Bicycle Club, and a sweet re-imagining of The Shard commissioned by the building for its first birthday party.

Candice Brown - 2016 Winner

Candice Brown had been working as a PE teacher before winning the seventh series of Bake Off in 2017, but the London-born chef has since pursued a hugely successful culinary career.

Her 267,000-strong Instagram following is the least of her impressive achievements. Brown has released two cookbooks with 2017’s Comfort and 2021’s Happy Cooking, as well as owning her own pub restaurant named The Greenman Eversholt.

Liam Charles - fifth place 2017

The only non-winner on the list, Charles has carved out a very good career post-Bake Off despite not even reaching the final. The 25-year-old has written two cookbooks - 2018’s Cheeky Treats and 2019’s Second Helpings and has also been a regular culinary columnist for The Guardian.

He also enjoyed a successful TV career since first appearing on our screens in 2017. Just one year after his Bake Off debut, Charles became the co-presenter of the spin-off show Bake Off: The Professionals. He also joined Junior Bake Off as a judge in 2019, appearing alongside Prue Leith and Harry Hill.