Overview

• Twelve amateur bakers entered the tent as Alison Hammond, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith returned to their hosting and judging roles.
• The Technical introduced a taste-and-bake format, giving contestants a sample Battenburg, five minutes to inspect it and no written recipe or ingredient list.
• Viewers on social media called the change "harsh" and "cruel," criticizing the challenge for encouraging guesswork rather than testing set skills.
• Cake Week featured a patterned Swiss roll Signature, fondant fancies in the revamped Technical, and a landscape cake Showstopper.
• The premiere included notable mishaps—one baker forgot to add flour and another’s showstopper collapsed before a late rescue—and concluded with one elimination and a Star Baker named, with the departing contestant describing feeling "gutted."