The Great British Bake Off reveals major new first for 2026 - and you can get involved
When the Great British Bake Off returns later this year, there’ll be a major change to one of the week’s challenges
The Great British Bake Off has been serving up plenty of surprises and treats - and there's no signs of slowing down as it approaches its 17th season.
This Christmas, the Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off brought together two British classics and now, Paul Hollywood has shared a major first coming to the new series.
Making the announcement on the show’s official Instagram page, Paul revealed that the exciting new twist will see an Audience Choice Week put the viewers in control of what the bakers conjure up in the tent.
In the clip, Paul says, 'I’ve got something really important to tell you. For one week only, you get to choose the Technical, the Showstopper and the Signature bake on Audience Choice Week.'
Explaining the reason behind this exciting addition to the beloved series, Paul added, 'Over the years, a lot of people have come up to me and offered advice on what challenges we should be making the bakers bake in the tent. Well, now it’s down to you.'
Dame Prue Leith added in a statement, 'I’m really looking forward to Bake Off’s very first audience choice week, giving the show’s fans the opportunity to have their say about what bakes they’d like to see in the tent.'
If you’re one of the people Paul referred to and have always wanted to see the bakers try to craft something specific, you can submit your ideas for the very first Audience Choice Week online at thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/audiencechoice/.
The deadline for submitting your suggestions is 1pm on Sunday, January 18.
Viewers are welcome to send submissions for one, two or all three of the challenges, but don't worry, you don't need to have all the details included.
Per the instructions on the site, 'We only need a brief headline and short description, so no need for recipes or detailed instructions.'
While Bake Off season 17 doesn’t have a release date just yet, the deadline to apply to appear on the show ends on January 2. Typically, the show starts airing the new series from mid to late September.
In November 2025, Jasmine Mitchell, a medical student from Edinburgh, was crowned the victor of the 16th series after making the largest cake in Bake Off history, a 1.2-metre showstopper.
Past winners of the show have included John Whaite, Nadiya Hussain and Rahul Mandal.
The next serving of Bake Off will be the New Year's special, which will bring back two winners and previous fan favourites from the earlier seasons.
Great New Year's Bake Off 2026 line-up
- Andy (series 15)
- Nelly (series 15)
- Val (series 7)
- Selasi (series 7)
- Briony (series 9)
- Tasha (series 14)
- Giuseppe (series 12)
- Rahul (series 9)
How to watch The Great New Year's Bake Off in the UK
The special will air on Channel 4 at 6:40pm, and will be available to watch live on Channel 4 or on catch-up online on demand.
How to watch the New Year Bake Off special from anywhere in the world
If you’re going to be away from your usual TV set-up when the Bake Off special airs, there's no need to worry.
You can still enjoy the episode, with the use of a Virtual Private Network - a VPN.
A VPN allows you to change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to the show, even if you're not there.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate Nord to be the absolute best.
They say, "It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Nord."
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