Britain's Best Home Cook: Meet the 10 contestants hoping to impress Mary Berry

Originally from the Philippines, 37-year-old Josie now lives in Glasgow but her heritage has a huge influence on her cooking. By day she is a wealth client executive but her real passion is cooking. She loves to recreate her favourite Filipino dishes and prides herself on being an instinctive cook – she never follows a recipe!

Tobi, 27, from London is a compliance manager who started cooking with his mum and gran when he was just seven years old. Growing up, he would often cook dinner for his three brothers whenever his parents were busy – and it looks like all the practice has paid off. It goes without saying, Tobi absolutely loves cooking – particularly dishes inspired by his British-Nigerian heritage. 

Pippa is a 28-year-old home cook from Salford, who works as an oncology research biobank technician by day. It was her grandma that triggered Pippa's love for cooking. She started teaching her how to cook when she was just a little girl and trips to a local Chinese restaurant inspired her love of Asian food.

Philip, 48, is a maths teacher from Surrey who has loved food ever since he can remember. Having grown up in the '70s, his passion is British cuisine. He loves serving up everything from prawn cocktails to traditional roast dinners. Delia's Complete Cookery Course is still his cookery book bible – which he still credits as his biggest source of inspiration to this day.

Q, 38, is a children's A & E nurse from Balcombe in West Sussex – but she hasn't always lived on British Shores. She grew up in Slovakia where food was central to family life. Her childhood has had a huge impact on Q's cooking and she still uses her mother's old kitchen knife. 

Trevor, 29, is a farmer from Kent whose love of cooking came from his mum, grandmother and Auntie Irene. Due to his farming background, he says he has a heartfelt appreciation of ingredients and the time and effort that goes into producing them. He is a huge fan of bold flavours and loves to cook with spices. 

Dipa is a 44-year-old civil servant from Wolverhampton. She was taught to cook from a young age and by 11 was already a curry master. Her father's Kenyan heritage and mother's Indian heritage is her biggest inspiration in the kitchen and she loves cooking with fresh spices. Dipa reckons she never uses a cookbook and relies on her instincts, simple ingredients and straightforward methods instead. 

Fiona, 59, is a retired shop keeper from County Down, Northern Ireland. She started collecting Robert Carrier cookery magazines when she was 15 and her hobby became an obsession. Today, she loves cooking homely, farmhouse-kitchen-style food for her four sons, two daughters and her husband – creating feasts that make her family happy.