Foxtel announces new season of The Great Australian Bake Off with all new cast and judges
It’s back! Foxtel announces new season of The Great Australian Bake Off with all-new cast and judges
The Great Australian Bake Off returns to screens next month.
Foxtel announced that the healthy baking show will premiere on Tuesday, June 13 at 8:30 p.m. on Foxtel and On Demand.
British cookbook author Rachel Khoo and renowned Melbourne pastry chef Darren Purchese appear as judges alongside new hosts, comedians Natalie Tran and Cal Wilson.
Based on the popular UK format that began in 2010, the series, co-produced by BBC Australia and New Zealand, pits amateur bakers against each other as they face culinary challenges and are judged on results.
Filming for the 2023 season began in Sydney last August.
The Great Australian Bake Off returns to screens next month. British cookbook author Rachel Khoo (center right) and renowned Melbourne pastry chef Darren Purchese (center left) appear as judges alongside new hosts, comedians Natalie Tran (far left) and Cal Wilson (far right).
Khoo and Purchese will mentor and guide 12 home baking enthusiasts through a series of baking tasks and challenges for 10 weeks.
“I absolutely loved being on The Great Australian Bake Off. A dream job!’ said Khoo.
“It was so much fun seeing and tasting the bakers’ creations and also being part of such a fun new lineup with Darren, Natalie and Cal.”
Author of six cookbooks, Khoo rose to fame on British television and has served as a judge on Channel Seven’s My Kitchen Rules.
Based on the popular UK format that began in 2010, the wholesome series pits amateur bakers against each other as they face culinary challenges and are judged on results
Purchese is known to viewers as a guest judge on Channel 10’s MasterChef Australia and is the author of five cookbooks.
Tran earned acclaim for her supporting role in Foxtel’s cult hit Mr Inbetween; however, most viewers will know the 36-year-old comedian as a YouTube star.
Co-host Wilson, 51, is a former star of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and a regular appearance on the Channel 10 panel show Have You Been Attention?
The news follows Foxtel’s announcement in early August that original judges Matt Moran and Maggie Beer would not be returning for the upcoming season.
The new judges replace Matt Moran and Maggie Beer and present Mel Buttle and Claire Hooper
The streaming giant also confirmed that co-hosts Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle would also be replaced.
Previous reports had suggested Beer was unimpressed when network bosses attempted to replace her co-stars ahead of the 2022 season.
According to New ideathe 78-year-old restaurateur was “forced to put her foot down” after Foxtel executives threatened to shake up “her co-panel” of presenters.
These included Moran, host Buttle and comedian Hooper.
The Great Australian Bake Off debuted on Channel Nine with Shane Jacobson as host in 2013 and ran on the network for one season before being picked up by Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel in 2015.
The show was canned in 2020.
Rumors soon began to circulate that the show would make a comeback on free-to-air television by replacing My Kitchen Rules on Seven.
However, in July last year, it was confirmed that Foxtel had re-secured the format rights to the franchise and season five would begin in 2022.
The 2022 season concluded in April with Ella Rossanis, a 36-year-old mother of three from Perth, voted Australia’s best amateur baker in the season finale.
Ella Rossanis (pictured) won The Great Australian Bake Off in 2022