'The Great British Baking Show' 2021: What We Know

The Great British Baking Show has been a balm during the last few stormy years, with fans tuning in to watch bakers attempt complicated recipes while offering each other more encouragement than harsh competition. Luckily for us, Netflix has announced that TV's most heartwarming competition show is back, with the first episode of the new season dropping September 24, 2021.

For those who are new to the show, the British baking competition, known in the U.K. as The Great British Bake Off, takes place over several weeks of challenges. Judges have amateur bakers make complicated cakes, biscuits (British for hard cookies), breads and pastries. Refreshingly, the contestants never act as though they're competing, instead becoming close friends and helping each other out with their "bakes." One contestant is crowned the "Star Baker" each week, with another being eliminated. At the end, the winning baker wins the show's famous engraved cake stand.

Here's a clip from the first episode of the season:

When will The Great British Baking Show air in 2021?

The Great British Baking Show's new 10-episode season will premiere on September 24 in the U.S., with new episodes dropping every Friday. For those of you across the pond (or with access through a VPN), each episode will air in the U.K. on Channel 4 three days before they drop on Netflix, starting September 21, per Variety.

U.K. viewers got to see The Great Celebrity Bake Off earlier this year, but that edition of the show unfortunately never made it across the pond.

watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix

Where is The Great British Baking Show filmed?

The latest season was filmed at the Down Hall Hotel Spa and Estate just outside London, with production under a strict COVID lockdown. A surprise teaser dropped earlier this month showed us the first glimpse of the baking tent. The clip, soundtracked by the show's theme, has us dreaming of this year's new bakes.

The show filmed at Down Hall last season, when it was one of the first shows to resume production after pandemic shutdowns. Host Matt Lucas confirmed to the Radio Times that filming began last May in the "Bake Off Bubble," with the cast and crew taking over Down Hall and setting up the baking tent.

Who will host The Great British Baking Show?

The show's long-standing judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will return for the new season. Also returning are veteran host Noel Fielding and newbie Matt Lucas, who took over hosting duties from Sandi Toksvig last season.

In spite of the switch-ups, the judges and hosts are closer than ever. Paul Hollywood said in a Netflix Q&A about the "bubble": "Being in the bubble has made me Matt, Noel and Prue really close. We were good friends before, but now we have become the sort of friends that don’t have to keep talking to each other to fill a silence. We get along really well, and it’s easy and relaxing company."

Who's in the cast of The Great British Baking Show?

The cast of bakers includes Amanda, a retired detective; Rochica, a dancer; and Tom, a software developer, and nine other unique home bakers who will no doubt be winning hearts and baking bread (and, well, baking a lot else).

Hollywood teased what to expect from the cast of bakers in the Netflix Q&A: "I feel [in] this series the standard of bakers is so strong, they really brought a lot of expertise to the tent this year, I was really shocked and excited to see how quick they were out of the box." He added: "There are some great intros this year which I think the viewers will really enjoy. There is a lot of dressing up for me this year, which is unusual and in fact I get into 4 different costumes this series."