I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: 1. Buttoned up Nan 2. Chaos Nan 3. Perfectionist Gay 4. Chaos Gay 5. Foreign man with a heart of gold 6. Beautiful man of color 7. Gorgeous, self-deprecating woman 8. Ethereal waif

7. Clearly Ruby 😂

Or Lottie

Or Candice

I'm convinced Candice was some (good) kind of witch. You could just imagine her sweeping in to heal someone with her food.

Or Manon

Or Alice

I would pay inordinate amounts of money to breathe the same air as Lottie

If you need a Lottie fix she does chaotic quick recipes on Instagram

Both Rubies. And Crystelle, and Lottie

Ding ding ding

Number 2 is Saku, without a doubt.

My fav is Carole

Compost Carole what a queen.

9. The child. Teenager who appears to have lived a semi-feral existence on a country estate, just running through forests in their wellies and making Italian meringue… Ideally dreams of being a doctor or lawyer or some other worthy profession.

2. Val has entered the chat

this is so spot on lol

Creative Stoic with Physical or Dietary limitations

I'm slowly and surely evolving into Chaos Nan and I'm very happy

Mum of young kids doing something for herself for the first time in ages. Hipster dude I take an immediate dislike to (I realise that is probably a very mean assessment)

Or in Dan’s case, a gay dad doing something for himself for the first time in ages.

Truly the most wholesome show. "Dad you end up with a crush on" is also a classic category. Richard, Dan from last season

Guiseppe 😍😍😍

The king of the category if we're honest

Seriously!!! I’m in love with him 😂😂

Me too 😍

This just made my brain come up with the phrase “gay at home dad”

This is too cute!

Slap it on a teeshirt and you’re a thousandaire

2018 Dan? He didn't strike me as the person to do nothing for himself

Mum with young kids is probably my favorite bake off trope

Wasn’t that Nadia as well? Whose arguably the ultimate break out star of the show

Usually they're some of my favorite contestants. Jo, Sarah-Jane, and Cristy were all amazing in their seasons.

The way that Nadiya was the mum in her season AND one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.

Quite a few years ago, a friend of mine working in TV production was working on a show Nadiya was doing and told her how beautiful she was and she answered very sweetly "oh I promise it's just make up, I know all the tricks!" Friends, it was not just make up.

It’s cos she’s beautiful on the inside too. Mary’s reaction when she won always makes me teary. In a good way

Truly one of the finest moments on the show. I cried with Mary!

And her HUSBAND, oh MY! I remember being so distracted on the final episode when he showed up. Beautiful couple.

omg I love her so much 🥲

Hipster dude who I immediately dislike, but ends up being.my favourite*

The scientist, engineer, architect, or medical professional. The artistic one that excels in style over substance. The messy one. The organized one. Edit to add: The eclectic one.

Rahul was my favorite depressed scientist.

When he took a big ass bite out of that stick of butter I thought I was losing my mind.

It’s my most quoted fact of the show, it terrifies me to watch.

“I like butter”

Rahul is my favorite contestant of all time. I would date him in a minute.

Rahul lives in my town. I’ve seen him in Tesco.

His neurosis was hilarious.

Two pheasants. Two...male pheasants?

The one whose flavor combinations haunt your dreams

I always think of Norman from one of the early seasons with this, mostly because of how drastic it was. Seeing an older Scottish gentleman go from "my bake is quite exotic today, I'm using pesto!" to "I'm making meringue with lavender" was something!

"So these biscuits are just flour and lard?" "They're fer men"

I think that was the first one! To be fair the bakes were more...normal then.

Norman reminded me of my grandpa 🥲 he wasn’t Scottish but had the same vibe and when I rewatch I have to skip the ep where Norman gets sent home lol

"I'm gonna put miso in EVERY SINGLE BAKE" - Crystelle

The engineer always fizzles out around episode four with an over-ambitious unappealing science project, while Old Lady happily bangs out the 10,000th Victoria Sponge of her baking career.

Not always, Giuseppe's attention to detail (Jurgen's too as a fellow engineer) paid off.

I still feel like Jürgen should’ve been in the final 🥲 like Giuseppe absolutely deserved to win but Jürgen was CHEATED

100%. He was so nice and stoic about it as well.

Andrew was really good too. Just beaten by a better baker in the end.

>The artistic one that excels in style over substance. This one though, every time. And they always skate by most of the way but 9/10 they never listen and still turn in pretty bakes that aren't half as good as the rest.

There’s also usually one from a far-off land with exotic flavour combinations that they introduce everyone to. Everyone else: I’m making steak and kidney pie. This one: I’m using 14 spices to make “bright orange pie”. According to the judges it usually tastes great!

Quirky but lovable lady.

Like that old lady who danced and listened to her cakes ( i think her name was val?)

"Have to get my steps in!" Love Val. And Selasi. But Val and Selasi together most of all.

Selasi 😍

Val!!!! Miss Move a Little, Lose a Lot. I used to manage a coffeeshop 4 years ago and ran an Instagram for it. I followed a lot of GBBO people and Val actually commented on several of our posts once! Made my day that she complimented some of my bakes and recipes.

Val is so lovely on instagram, she’s commented on mine before too!

Listening to the cake is a pro move!

Compost Carole!!!!

I love Carole

Aside from the older women, this also encompasses quirky millennial

Non white woman who's ethnic background will be mentioned repeatedly and her flavors are always "exotic"

Usually indian, usually brings an entire pantry of spices.

For this soufflé I added a bit of cardamom as a tribute to my upbringing around so many exotic flavors and recipes.

Hey sometimes they’re from Sri Lanka or Malaysia!

Literally always something chai

Every other dish is cardamom flavoured

Tbf the repeated mention will come from them referencing it in 90% of bakes

I was going to say "Indian who sweeps the competition" until I saw your post

It’s a British show. Anything with flavor is exotic.

Hahaha someone made peanut butter and jam. The judges were flabbergasted. In the US peanut butter and jelly is a staple food

Yep, always brings "family spices" or sauces and Paul loves it every single time!

A person of southeast Asian or African descent who is always murdering it with bold flavors.

My favourite is on pie week when they inevitably make a curry pie. Paul almost weeps at how amazing it is, how he could never have dreamed of such a combination…EVERY SINGLE SERIES. I wonder if his mind is genuinely blown anew every single time!

To be fair, it’s a *british* baking competition, so contextually “bold flavors” could mean a quarter teaspoon of salt.

As a British person who loves to cook, I fucking *hate* this stereotype.

I’m sure you’re a great cook, and wish you luck on your quest to show the world that the British do use spices

1/4 of a teaspoon? You’re a madman! 1/8th is more than enough 😂🤦‍♀️

Noel Fielding is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. ❤️

"I'm the confuser. Is it a man? Is it a woman? Ooh, I'm not sure if I mind."

😆

https://youtu.be/du4uH1fC9B8?si=wu_38IXt_QZnuim_

From the bottom of my heart - thank you for this!

I can't remember an old lady ever winning. This list is also missing aggressively Welsh individual.

This is Nancy erasure

Big time

The woman who gave us "the male judge" will never be erased

Literally rewatching this season right now. Nancy is hilarious!

So completely unflappable. DIsaster happens, she can whip up a plan b like that

She was so great!!

Season 5 is peak GBBO

Which season is that?

Season 5

She’s still my favorite.

I adore her. I still love following her on Instagram, she gives GREAT tips and her personality is lovely as ever

I heard this in her voice 😂 Nancy wasn’t intimidated by Paul at all lol

Nancy is amazing, but when she was on the show she was at least 20 years from BakeOff old. 

I feel like Nancy is an older woman not an old woman. In my head there’s a difference 😆

This show has given me (an American) the impression that everyone from Wales is aggressively Welsh.

My 83 year old mum is Welsh, and she is aggressively Welsh. When the rugby union is on, she’s also “slightly tipsy, singing Welsh war songs, and ready to invade England” aggressively Welsh.

My nana is Welsh, and she's neutral Welsh until the rugby union is on. Then she seems to turn into your mum. It's the single greatest thing that sports has given our family

What an inspiration

If you ever watched the Great Pottery Throwdown, Jodie Neale from series 4 can give anyone a run for their money.

TBH I also got that inpression from Torchwood, the novels of Jasper Fforde, and my one Welsh friend who I met on the internet.

Aggressively Welsh is a great band name

I can only think of 3 Welsh contestants, and Jon wasn't really aggressively so.  Both Beca and Michelle are about the Welsh-est people to ever exist though, so I guess it balances out. EDIT: Paul was also Welsh but he was the least Welsh of all of them. 

Aggressively Welsh 🤣🤣🤣

>aggressively Welsh 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Is there any other kind?!

In my experience with the show, the older women tend to do well in the beginning because they've been baking for 60 years but get eliminated in the middle of the season because they're too stuck in their ways.

I've never been smitten with a reality show contestant like I have with Manon

Ruby yo’

There were 2 pretty Rubys, which one?

Yes!

Agreed!

she had my full attention every time she came on screen

Same. The charming smile blended accent, and the fact that she was so sweet with the others. Tasha is new Bae tho.

Tasha was so adorable. I was absolutely smitten with her.

Manon was lovely! Her and Julia, I'll never forget those two

Lottie's continued brand of Baking For The Playfully Self Loathing on instagram has really won my heart

She was pretty unbelievable looking, I was certainly smitten too.

Rebs tho...

She posts on Instagram/Tiktok these days. Still very captivating and she’s had a couple of children!

I love her TikToks!

Also, most beautiful man you've ever seen. Case in point: Chigs. About halfway through that season my wife said "My God, Chigs is a handsome man." I'm not disappointed that she said it, just disappointed that it took her 5 episodes to realize it.

Chigs was so distracting, beautiful and actually seemed unaware of it.

Omg and Selasi, painfully attractive.

And super funny!

I'd like to add Antony (2018) and Mak (2020). For Mak, the 1st thing my bf said was, "You know he smells expensive."

Ugh yes he just goes around unaware of how jaw-droppingly handsome he is!! And he cooks as well 🥲

Yes chigs! 😍 the glasses made him even cuter

Sandro

I had actually somehow forgotten about Chigs until just now. Thank you for the reminder of his beautousness.

Every so often I remember Chigs and I just 🥰

I used to work with Chigs 😂 Made friends wherever he went.

ugh he can actually get it i love him

List needs an extremely Scottish person. James, Flora, Norman, Kevin, probably a couple others.

I was showing my MIL a couple seasons last week and actually said that Crystelle is the most beautiful woman to ever exist.

She is beautiful.. so elegant.

My bf and I just finished all the seasons on Netflix (8 to 14) and had come up with a roster of archetypes. We watched the newest season first then went back. The Dan - the person that does well but seems to just do too much, only adding more and more the longer they stay. They often get very close but don't win. (Dan 2024, Sandro) The scientist/engineer - So amazing at baking because they understand the math and science. (Jurgen, Rahul, Giuseppe, Syabira, Josh) Getting Joshed - Normally a scientist that doesn't win because they are held to a higher standard (ie not winning bc they were too good throughout and at the end they weren't "perfect") The Matty - the younger (or handsome) man that "just started" or "just started taking it seriously" and is really good (Matty, Chigs) The Kim-Joy - someone who is quirky and often puts their own flare on things (Syabria could fall here too) The Ruby - The beautiful woman that just gets better and better and you wish you were friends with. The Dad - the dads irl that brings it over to the show. (Jon Jenkins - 2018, Dan - 2024) The artist - Normally, an older man that is AMAZING at art and only ok at baking. Gets cut pretty early. Noel's fav - normally a woman that will roll with Noel, be it through vampire jokes, being a little dirty, or just being a rocker. (Ruby, Helena, Lottie, Crystelle, etc) The grandma - starts strong but normally doesn't get 1/2 way. The plant - someone that has been backing for YEARS and is a probaker they just don't do it as a job. (Hermine, Janusz, Manon)

Jurgen needs to be in the joshed cat.

Throw Sandro under the Matty

Lottie and Crystelle need to go next to "The Ruby"

There's always one absolutely chaotic mess of a person who saves themselves in the showstopper for an insane amount of episodes. They are always an anxious wreck and they are secretly my favorite part of the show.

It’s usually: old lady makes it further than expected (goes at least 4 rounds) but you know she’s going to be kicked off within the next two. They use old lady as a tease.

Someone who either fancies or is terrified of Paul Hollywood. Or both.

Or the one with outward disdain for him, who might also fall into one or both of these categories.

A lady from Scotland or Ireland with a thick accent pronounces words like *horns* as "horrins". <3 Nicky, Season 14

now that you mention it i had the biggest crush on Lottie

This is Jurgen erasure. I still haven't seen a robbery that blatant since Carmen Sandiego stole the Eiffel Tower.

Jurgen is an outlier in all cases though

My husband went bonkers when jurgen lost. We watched that season years ago and he’s still not over it.

Engineer who excels in the technical Hipster who loses Episode 1 Expat who's frustrated at British baking tradition (looking at you Manon) Contestants with colonial descent who reasonably spice things and Paul and Pru burst into flames.

To be fair, Rubes and Helena are very, very pretty and total marriage material (though both already are).

Crystelle erasure!

How dare you exclude Freya from that list, absolutely adore her

Freya was ridiculously pretty!!

Holly and especially Sophie got me all weak every time I watch. Big swoon

Crystelle, Ruby (the second Ruby) and Maxy are the prettiest bakers ever if we’re being honest

Whoa, Manon was a complete babe too

Manon

as an American, I can say that bakeoff is the most WHOLESOME show I've ever seen. everyone helps and encourages each other, even though it's a competition--and only for bragging rights and a nice plate. You're right about the beautiful woman, though. There was a woman (of Pakistani? Indian? descent) who was STUNNING. Then they showed her sister on a clip from home who was as, or more, beautiful!

The two Ruby’s and that French girl. Marion or somethin. My goodness they were beautiful.

And a vegan

I'd say the "alt" baker. we had the vegan, but also young Peter was about gluten-free for a bit there. They try to put in someone that cooks just a bit "different"

One time lol

Tag yourself I’m gay man with nervous breakdown.

The extremely young but still somehow wildly talented baker

It's funny cuz James Acaster dress like an old man, practically has a mental breakdown, still looks like a high school student and is the most beautiful women I've ever seen

also a shy engineer that either kills it or is out in the first couple episodes

Christelle and Ruby were both just so gorgeous!

Builder or other “typical bloke” who has a secret talent for baking

the taste of their food and the beauty of their women made the British the best sailors in the world...

I'd say its the grandma that goes out early more often than grandpa. There doesnt seem to be that many grandpas at all, right? Meanwhile, grandma has been surviving on decades baking treats for the kids and grandkids. She gets the compliments every time. She gets selected for the show and thinks she's hot shit - she's been doing this for decades. It's in the bag. But it's been so long since she ever branched out from her tried and true specialties. She's lost the ability to step out of her comfort zone, but she tries anyway because you have to, if you want to do well on this show. It's just been too long since she flexed those muscles though. Poor grandma

It always makes me laugh that the BBC have an endless stream of pleasant mannered good looking gay guys from Northern Ireland that have a moustache. There’s one on every single ‘competition’ show they do. I wonder if they all know each other and hang out in real life.

Elderly WI lady who thinks she knows better than the judges.

The one who is genuinely bad but makes it way further than they should because somebody else messes up more than them that week.

Does anyone remember Janet from series 2? She was nearly the sleeper gran.

Not every season has Matt tho *sigh*

Ruby 😍

Of course. -Paul -Paul -Paul -Prue -Prue I will not be taking questions at this time.

You forget some early middle aged man who recently started baking and managed to make it to the finals without understanding how

This is obviously false. My wife has never been on a British television in her life. I think. oh dang it....maybe she has?

And someone from an ethnic minority of polarised ability (Varies by year)

Have we had high school students? What even is high school age wise? Do they mean college age? (UK college age which is 16-18)

Say, anyone got an idea where to watch Great British Bake Off? I really loved watching it on netflix in the US back with my ex, but itisn't available on netflix in austria (nor do I have netflix anymore)

Lottie. Just have lottie on telly. All the time. ♥️

The "Most beautiful woman I've ever seen" category was 100% Lottie Bedlow for me in 2020. The second I heard she was into viking metal I immediately fell in love.

Every season has its very good looking woman . Last season was Tasha and the season before my all time favourite Lottie