The Biggest Great British Bake Off success stories

These Great British Bake Off alums have given ‘star baker’ a whole new meaning thanks to the uber successful careers they have enjoyed since leaving the show. 

The beloved baking show is returning to Channel 4 on September 13 and has just announced its newest batch of contestants, which is the most international line up ever. 

If they manage to butter up the judges and whisk away the competition, these hopefuls could join the likes of Nadiya Hussain, Candice Brown and John Whaite in the ranks of the show’s most successful participants.

Hussain, who stole the nation’s hearts when she won in 2015, has since amassed a net-worth of £3.7million, making her the wealthiest GBBO alumna ever, and even baked the Queen’s 90th birthday’s cake in 2016.

Meanwhile, John Whaite, who won the show in 2012, became a well-known TV personality who was Lorraine’s resident cook for years, and made history when he made up for half of Strictly Come Dancing’s first ever male same-sex pairing last year. 

It’s been 12 years since Edd Kimber was crowned the first ever GBBO winner in 2010, and since then, he has become a successful food writer, with six cookbooks out, and a reported net-worth of £3.1million.  

Nadiya Hussain, Bake Off 2015

Nadiya, 37, was reduced to tears when she won the show’s sixth season in 2015, with a multi-layered cake called ‘My Big Fat British Wedding Cake’

Nadiya, 37, was reduced to tears when she won the show’s sixth season in 2015, with a multi-layered cake called ‘My Big Fat British Wedding Cake.’ 

In her acceptance speech, the Luton native, who has relocated to Leeds with her husband, said: ‘I’m never gonna say “maybe”. I’m never gonna say, “I don’t think I can”. I can and I will.’

Clearly, the baker has been living by those words ever since her win, and has enjoyed an extremely successful career, with a net-worth estimated at £3.7million. 

A year after winning the baking show, Nadiya received the honour of baking the Queen’s cake for her 90th birthday, which was a three-tier orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange butter cream. 

A year after winning the baking show, Nadiya received the honour of baking the Queen’s cake for her 90th birthday, which was a three-tier orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange butter cream

She revealed that she asked her daughter Maryam, now 11, what type of cake she should made for her Majesty at the time, and Marym replied:  ‘You’ve already baked a cake for the Queen… Mary Berry is the Queen!’

That same year, in 2016, she was named by Debrett’s as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK. 

She is now one of the country’s most beloved chefs and regularly makes TV appearances on The One Show on BBC One and Loose Women on ITV. 

She’s also fronted several cooking shows on her own, including a BBC Two series called Nadiya’s British Food Adventure.

In 2019, she published her autobiography, called Finding My Voice, telling Elizabeth Day for You Magazine that: ‘Growing up, I didn’t see a Muslim woman on television… it’s important to create that space in publishing, in television, in cookery. 

‘If I just hide in the background, that space will go away. I always say to my kids, 2Elbows out, create your own space”.’

In 2020, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to broadcasting and the culinary arts.   

It doesn’t get more successful than this. 

John Whaite, Bake Off 2012

Whaite, from Chorley, Lancashire, made history last year when he made up half of Strictly’s first ever male same-sex pairing, taking to the Birmingham ballroom with pro dancer and choreographer Johannes Radebe

John, 33, won the show’s third season of Bake Off, with a heaven and hell chiffon cake, aged just 23, after sacking off college to take a chance on GBBO. 

Ten years on, Whaite is a respected TV personality, presenter and chef,  who had a residency on Lorraine from 2013 to 2016. 

Whaite, from Chorley, Lancashire, made history last year when he made up half of Strictly’s first ever male same-sex pairing, taking to the Birmingham ballroom with pro dancer and choreographer Johannes Radebe. 

He made it to the final, but was beaten to the punch by Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice who took home the win. 

John, 33, won the show’s third season of Bake Off, with a heaven and hell chiffon cake, aged just 23, after sacking off college to take a chance on GBBO (pictured on Lorraine in 2016)

Off screen, John enjoys a very successful career as a food writer, having penned four cooking books (pictured on Strictly in 2021)

Off screen, John enjoys a very successful career as a food writer, having penned four cooking books. 

He also opened his own cooking school in 2016, named John Whaite’s Kitchen, which opened on his family’s farm in Wrightington, Lancashire, in a 400-year-old barn.

It offers both cookery classes for groups and individuals, and hosts supper clubs and private dining experiences.   

According to Entertainment Daily, John’s net-worth is estimated to be £1.5million thanks to his varied endeavours.  

Candice Brown, Bake Off 2016 

Candice, 37, won Bake Off’s last BBC series with a delicate pastry in 2016 before the show moved to Channel 4. Pictured at this year’s Royal Ascot, left, and in July, right 

Candice, 37, won Bake Off’s last BBC series with a delicate pastry in 2016 before the show moved to Channel 4. 

She was touted to get a £1million payday in deals alone after winning the show, and it is believed she has doubled her earning since, thanks to a steady stream of cooking and writing gigs. 

After she won the show, she quit her job as a PE teacher to focus on her cooking career full time. 

She has also made several noted TV appearances on Loose Women, and had a short stint on Dancing on Ice in 2018, where she became the first contestant to be booted off.  

After she won the show, she quit her job as a PE teacher to focus on her cooking career full time

She was touted to get a £1million payday in deals alone after winning the show, and it is believed she has doubled her earning since, thanks to a steady streaming of cooking and writing gigs

Candice has been a food columnist for the Sunday Times for six years and dishes out her best recipes and tips to viewers weekly. 

She has also penned two cookbooks, with the latest one, Happy Cooking, being released in 2021.  

Last year, she told the Sunday Post: ‘It’s so cliché to say, but I never thought any of this would happen in a million years.’

‘For me, baking was just something I loved and did to clear my head. It was my way of coping. I just adored Bake Off and always loved the idea of taking part,’ she added. 

In 2018, she also bought a pub called the Green Man in Eversholt, Bedfordshire with her brother, and set up a media company.

Edd Kimber, Bake Off 2010

Edd Kimber, now 37, was catapulted to fame when he won the first series of Bake Off 12 years ago. The show allowed him to quit his job as a debt collector to pursue baking full time

‘When the finale aired I still remember people applauding the idea that a man could win a baking show,’ he wrote in The Telegraph in 2016

Edd, 37, was catapulted to fame when he won the first series of Bake Off 12 years ago. 

The show allowed him to quit his job as a debt collector to pursue baking full time. 

‘When the finale aired I still remember people applauding the idea that a man could win a baking show,’ he wrote in The Telegraph in 2016. 

Since then, he’s been enjoying a 402,000-strong followers count on Instagram, where he shares glimpses of his baker life under the pseudonym The Boy Who Makes. 

Edd has also become a prolific food writer with six cookbooks under his belt, the latest, Small Batch Bakes: Baking Cakes, Cookies, Bars and Buns for One to Six People, having been published this year. 

Edd’s first book is believed to have sold for £150,000, and his two further publications made £100,000, of which he is believed to have taken a £37,500 cut at the time. 

Edd, who was famously rejected by his local catering college prior to his GBBO appearance, also writes about baking for magazines, works as a private chef, and gives cookery demonstrations around the world 

He had a successful stint as the resident baker on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV from 2010 to 2014, and ran a pop-up bakery in Fortnum & Mason, as well as leading other baking classes. 

Frances Quinn, Bake Off 2013 

Frances Quinn, 40, won Bake Off’s fourth season, in 2013, while working as a children clothes designer

After the show, Frances, from Leicestershire, moved from designer garments to pastries, and focused solely on cooking, and now runs her own shops where she makes bespoke cakes for events, pictured

Frances during the finale of the 2013 series, which she won with this tiered cake decorated with butterflies

Frances, 40, won Bake Off’s fourth season, in 2013, while working as a children clothes designer. 

Initially criticised by Paul Hollywood for ‘style over substance’, she went from the dark horse of the competition to resounding winner in the final with her shock victory over favourite Ruby Tandoh. 

After the show, Frances, from Leicestershire, moved from designer garments to pastries, and focused solely on cooking, and now runs her own shops where she makes bespoke cakes for events. 

Her hits with big corporate clients have guaranteed her a steady income, however, her overall net-worth is not known.

Clients include Nike, Clare Balding and the Tate museum. 

Her mouth-watering work has been featured in countless magazines, including Vogue.  

In 2016, she release Quinntessential, a cooking books where she shared fun recipes with her fans. 

David Atherton, Bake Off 2019

As one of the show’s most recent winners, Londoner David, 38, became a fan favourite during the 2019 series

Extraordinarily, David was initially a reserve for the show, and got to compete when another candidate did not pull through, baking his way to the top and taking home the title

As one of the show’s most recent winners, Londoner David, 38, became a fan favourite during the 2019 series. 

Extraordinarily, David was initially a reserve for the show, and got to compete when another candidate did not pull through, baking his way to the top and taking home the title.

His success story moved the public, who immediately fell in love with the health advisor’s heart of gold. 

Since winning the show, David has been cutting himself a slice of the cooking industry, and released a children’s cooking book in 2020: My First Cook Book: Bake, Make and Learn to Cook

Since winning the show, David has been cutting himself a slice of the cooking industry, and released a children’s cooking book in 2020: My First Cook Book: Bake, Make and Learn to Cook. 

He has also taken part in several cooking festivals around the country, including Food Lovers Festival in Yorkshire in August. 

David also enjoys a healthy following on Instagram, where he shares glimpses of his life and his baking. 

Liam Charles, Bake Off 2017

Liam, 25, only came in fourth position during the 2017 series of Bake Off, but he was a winner with fans, who made him the fan favourite of the season

His charisma proved his biggest strength as it earned him several presenting stints, including presenter on Bake Off: The Professionals with Tom Allen

Liam, 25, only came in fourth position during the 2017 series of Bake Off,  but he was a winner with fans, who made him the fan favourite of the season. 

His charisma proved his biggest strength as it earned him several presenting stints, including presenter on Bake Off: The Professionals, and later as a judge on the Junior Bake Off.

When he’s not presenting or baking for his 172,000 followers on Instagram, Liam is also an accomplished food writer who published two books, with the latest released in 2019. 

He also previously wrote a monthly food column for The Guardian after his time on the show. 

When he’s not presenting or baking for his 172,000 followers on Instagram, Liam is also an accomplished food writer who published two books, with the latest released in 2019