The Great Christmas Bake Off 2020

The Great Christmas Bake Off 2020: Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Matt Lucas and Tom Allen are joined by past bakers to celebrate Christmas in the tent. And Alexandra Burke performs her magical version of Silent Night.

Christmas season is fast approaching and luckily for Bake Off fans, we’ll be getting a double helping of the Channel 4 competition with both a Christmas special and a New Year special. Both one-off episodes will see a variety of former Bake Off contestants return to the tent once more in an attempt to redeem themselves or defend their champion title – (two former winners will be cooking up a storm during the New Year special).

With Matt Lucas, Noel Fielding and Tom Allen hosting the festive shows, food-lovers are in for a real treat this holiday period.

GBBO fans are in for a treat this Christmas with two festive specials set to air over the December-January period. The Great British Bake Off’s Christmas special will air on Christmas Eve at 7:40pm on Channel 4, with the show’s alumni returning to the white tent to compete for the Christmas Star Baker title.

Then just over a week later, Bake Off returns with The Great New Year Bake Off on Sunday 3rd January at 7:45pm – in which another set of former bakers join Noel Fielding, Matt Lucas, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood for a bit of festive competition.

The Great Christmas Bake Off 2020

Bake Off in the time of a global pandemic is very different behind the scenes as the 12 contestants, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas leave behind their loved ones to enter their own bubble.

But this sacrifice means that on-screen, fans will be relieved to learn, all is as familiar and comfortable as a well-loved bobble hat. The opening episode is a corker, with a bunch of good-natured, self-deprecating and often brilliant amateurs and the funniest round I can ever recall. It’s the showstopper and it’s hilarious. A fondant Freddie Mercury, anyone?

Paul Hollywood

The elder statesman of Bake Off, Paul is the only member of the team who has been with the show since its very beginning, originally judging alongside Mary Berry until the move to Channel 4 in 2017. Paul also hosts the US version of the programme, The American Baking Competition and has served as head baker at a number of hotels in the UK and abroad, after first beginning his career at his father’s bakery when he was still in his teens.

Although it was Bake Off that really made Paul a household name, he had made some other TV appearances beforehand on shows including The Heaven and Earth Show and This Morning, while since making his name as a judge he has appeared on a number of programmes including his own show Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds.

Paul is known for his often harsh comments and for setting frequently challenging tasks in the signature challenge, while his coveted “Hollywood handshakes” reserved for the very best bakes have become a popular feature of the show.