Great British Bake Off 2021: Meet the new contestants

Life-long Great British Bake Off fan. Freya has been dreaming of entering since the first series, when she was nine. Her love of baking comes from spending lots of time with her grandma as she was growing up, and now Freya balances her baking with her studies while at uni studying for a psychology degree. After beginning to make plant-based versions of classic bakes for her dad a year ago, Freya now likes to bake so that no one can tell the results are vegan. She also likes to be 'unexpected' with her baking, and can usually be found making a big mess in the kitchen to create her intricate designs.

Keen runner Tom has been baking all of his life and proudly remembers being the only boy in his primary school baking club, but he discovered his true passion for baking four years ago when he made his dad a sticky toffee pudding cake. Now Tom finds the time to bake several times a week, and is known as the 'midnight baker' by his mum after she would often wake up to find freshly-baked pies, quiches and breads in the morning. Tom likes to make each bake his own and has a lot of fun with his bakes, which often follow their own creative themes.

Raised in London with Greek-Cypriot heritage, Amanda baked with her mum as a child and learned all about Greek baking in particularly from her paternal auntie. Amanda's bakes are often influenced by Greek and Middle Eastern flavours, and she loves painting directly onto her cakes too. Inspired by her two daughters, Met Police Detective Amanda decorates her bakes with a pretty, feminine aesthetic, while her history of studying graphic design at college is sure to help create some eye-catching decorations.

George grew up in a close-knit Greek-Cypriot family and food has always been a big part of his family life. Now married to his childhood sweetheart, George enjoys baking with his three children and passing on the lessons he learned from his mum when he learned to bake as a child. George likes to flavour his bakes with home-grown herbs, while he prefers to finish his bakes with a shabby-chic, vintage vibe and won't settle for anything less than perfection with his finished bakes too.

Trinidadian-born Jairzeno lives in London and began baking in 2014 when he became disillusioned with delicious-looking bakes that didn't have the flavour to match. Now, Jairzeno says that 'baking is like breathing' and he loves to explore new flavour combinations, enjoys using lots of Caribbean spices and always aims for the perfect pâtissérie finish with his bakes.

Coming from a big Jamaican family, Rochica loves to reflect her Caribbean heritage with her bakes with lots of flavour, passion and love. She always is especially proud when her nan and aunties let her know that she has baked a cake that reminds them of the treats they grew up with. Rochica's love of baking began when she was left unable to dance due to an injury, and now she spends her spare time baking, dancing and making sure her nephew is provided with plenty of biscuits before whisking up a cake that can live up. to her niece's wild imagination.

Retired nurse and midwife Maggie grew up surrounded by family members who loved to cook and bake and finds that baking comes naturally to her. While she loves recreating traditional bakes, Maggie also enjoys experimenting with exciting flavours. Her favourite thing to bake is bread, so she'll be looking to impress Paul Hollywood during Bread Week. When she's not baking or cooking, Maggie loves canoeing, kayaking and sailing and regularly takes off in search of adventure.

Lizzie lives with her partner and their dog in an annexe in her parent's garden, and believes in flavour and simple presentation when it comes to her bakes – and she especially believes in quantity over precision. Despite looking frantic and messy on the outside, Lizzie is actually cool and collected within, and her baking comfort zone is cake. Lizzie also loves to experiment with flavour (as long as it doesn't involve putting cheese in bread!) and when she's not baking, Lizzie enjoys samba dancing and investigating the lives of serial killers – a fascination developed during her studies for her criminology degree.

Bristol-based Giuseppe is originally from Italy, and he credits his love of baking to his father, a professional chef who did all the cooking at home. Inspired by his Italian heritage, Giuseppe loves to use Italian flavours in his bakes and uses his engineer's precision to ensure perfect results. Giuseppe is also a self-confessed food snob, who prefers to make his own homemade confectionary for his children.

Chigs began seriously baking at the beginning of lockdown in 2020 and taught himself how to produce complex bakes and intricate chocolate work through the careful study of online videos. When it comes to baking, Chigs loves a challenge and he has no fear of being thrown in at the deep end – which makes Bake Off the perfect shows for him! When he's not baking, Chigs enjoys high-octane activities like bouldering, skydiving and trekking and he's currently planning on climbing Kilimanjaro – as well as hoping to impress the judges with his bakes.