The first series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on BBC Two on 17 August 2010. Ten home bakers took part in a bake-off to test their baking skills as they battled to be designated the best amateur baker. Each week the programme bakers participated in three challenges in a particular discipline, with some being eliminated at the end of each episode. The rounds of the competition took place in various locations across the UK following a theme, for example, the episode on puddings took place in Bakewell, bread baking would take place near Sandwich. This first series had a voiceover by Stephen Noonan; for the subsequent series this role was taken by the on-screen presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. The competition was won by Edd Kimber.
The third series of The Great British Bake Off began airing on Tuesday 14 August 2012. The series was filmed at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.
The fourth series of The Great British Bake Off began airing on 20 August 2013. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins again presented the show and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. As with series three, the competition was held at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.
The fifth series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on 6 August 2014, with twelve contestants. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins presented the show and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. Twelve contestants competed in this series, and the competition was held in Welford Park in Berkshire. The series was won by Nancy Birtwhistle, with Luis Troyano and Richard Burr finishing as runners-up.
The sixth series of The Great British Bake Off first aired on 5 August 2015, with twelve contestants competing to be the series 6 winner. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins presented the show, and Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges. The competition was held in the ground of Welford Park, Berkshire for a second year. The series was won by Nadiya Hussain, with Tamal Ray and Ian Cumming finishing as runners-up.
The seventh series of The Great British Bake Off aired from 24 August 2016, with twelve contestants competing to be crowned the series 7 winner.
The eighth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 29 August 2017, with this being the first of The Great British Bake Off to be broadcast on Channel 4, after the production company Love Productions moved the show from BBC One. It is the first series for new hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, and new judge Prue Leith.
The first season of The Great Canadian Baking Show premiered on CBC Television on November 1, 2017. Ten amateur bakers competed over eight weeks of challenges throughout the competition for the title.
The ninth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 28 August 2018, with this being the second series to be broadcast on Channel 4. The series is presented by Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, with judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. This series saw a few changes to the usual format: the first episode being Biscuit Week, the documentary inserts were dropped, and the finale included the competitors doing a technical challenge outside the tent for the first time.
The second season of The Great Canadian Baking Show premiered on CBC Television on September 19, 2018. Ten amateur bakers competed over eight weeks of challenges throughout the competition for the title. Canadian actor and television personality Dan Levy and Canadian-British actress Julia Chan returned as hosts, with French-born Canadian chef Bruno Feldeisen and Canadian-Australian pastry chef Rochelle Adonis also returning as judges. For the second season, producer Marike Emery stated that the audition process prioritized "skill over personality" and that the tasks would be more challenging than the first season.
The tenth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 27 August 2019. It was presented by returning hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, and judged by returning judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.
The second season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off premiered on TVNZ 2 on 3 November 2019 with hosts Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami and judges Dean Brettschneider and Sue Fleischl returning for the season. This season saw each episode expanded to ninety-minutes and featured the Signature, Technical, and Showstopper challenges on every episode instead of just the finale like the previous season.
The Great Canadian Holiday Baking Show is a Christmas special edition of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Episodes have featured bakers from previous seasons of The Great Canadian Baking Show competing in season baking challenges to be named "Star Holiday Baker". Four episodes of The Great Canadian Holiday Baking Show have aired, in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
The first season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off premiered on TVNZ 2 on 16 October 2018 and was hosted by Hayley Sproull and Madeleine Sami with Dean Brettschneider and Sue Fleischl serving as judges. With the exception of the finale, each episode had two bakes out of the typical Signature, Technical and Showstopper format of Bake Off franchises.
The eleventh series of The Great British Bake Off began on 22 September 2020. It was presented by returning host Noel Fielding and new host Matt Lucas, who replaced Sandi Toksvig, and was judged by returning judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. The first three episodes were extended to 90 minutes instead of the usual 75 minutes. The bakers were announced on 15 September 2020.
The fourth season of The Great Canadian Baking Show premiered on CBC Television on February 14, 2021. As with previous seasons, ten amateur bakers will compete over eight weeks of challenges, vying for the title. The season marked the debut of Ann Pornel and Alan Shane Lewis as hosts, who replaced Carolyn Taylor and Aurora Browne. Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennaley returned for their fourth and second seasons respectively as judges.
After a COVID-19 pandemic enforced break in 2020, the third season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off was filmed in 2021 at Parihoa Farm in Muriwai instead of the usual location, South Auckland’s Puketutu Island Estate. This season premiered on 14 October 2021 on TVNZ 1 with Sproull, Sami, Brettschneider and Fleischl returning in their respective roles.
The fourth season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off return to Parihoa Farm in Muriwai, Auckland. This season premiered on Thursday 25 August at 7.30pm on TVNZ 1 and streams on TVNZ+; with Comedian Pax Assadi who joined Hayley Sproull as co-host and chef, restaurateur, writer, and food consultant Peter Gordon, alongside Jordan Rondel, an author and co-founder of international cakery The Caker took over the judging roles.
The thirteenth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 13 September 2022. It is again presented by Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas and judged by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. The bakers competing in the series were announced on 2 September 2022. The series was filmed at Welford Park, an estate near Newbury, Berkshire which was previously used for the programme from 2014 to 2019.
The fourteenth series of The Great British Bake Off began on 26 September 2023. In December 2022, Matt Lucas announced his departure from the show after three series as a co-presenter. In March 2023, Alison Hammond was announced as his replacement and joined Noel Fielding as co-host. Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith returned to judge the series. The bakers competing in the series were announced on 18 September 2023, and included the show’s first ever deaf contestant.
