Bake Off fans all over south Cumbria will be hotly anticipating the latest series of the show as we prepare for another season of kitchen inspiration.

The line up for the new season of this year's Great British Bake Off has now been released as the show is scheduled to air on Wednesday August 24 on BBC One at 8pm.

Brian O'Loughlin, owner of one of south Cumbria's favourite bakers, Thomas's Bakery, which has branches in Barrow, Dalton and Ulverston, is a big fan of Bake Off himself and has now exclusively revealed which cakes are Barrow's favourite.

He said: "For some reason our coconut squares are the most popular in our Barrow shop. The top cake seems to vary in each of the bakeries and it was the same when I owned bakeries in London: even if two bakeries were five minutes apart, each one seemed to have a different favourite.

"Apart from the coconut squares, the most popular cakes in our Dalton and Ulverston branches seem to be cherry cake and banana bread.

"The banana bread is something we have only started baking in August and it has really taken off. I go to Brocklebanks greengrocers and buy 20kg of ripe bananas to make 10kg of banana pulp, so it's all locally sourced."

So just who will be gracing the screens of the latest series? The line-up has now been confirmed as a pastor, a PE teacher and an aerospace engineer who will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of champion Nadiya Hussain on this year's Great British Bake Off.

Altogether, 12 amateur bakers will take part in the BBC One show, where they will compete to earn the approval of judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. But Mary, 81, said this year's contestants had not immediately become friends.

She said: "They know the standard that it is, which is now pretty high. And I think they were slower to bond this year than they were in the past."

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Entering the Bake Off tent was particularly nerve-wracking for the bakers because of last year's winner, Nadiya.

Paul said: "Nadiya went to a whole new level, and because of that I think it put the pressure on them more, and I think we felt that in the tents as well.

"But actually they came out tops. They started quite nervously but once they settled down they got into it. Then the baking started to flow and the standard got really, really good."

Andrew, 25, will swap jet engines for jellies and jam doughnuts. Originally from Northern Ireland, he now lives in Derby and works as an aerospace engineer for Rolls-Royce.

The oldest contestant in this year's line-up will be Lee, a 67-year-old who has worked in various pastoral ministries for the past 30 years - most recently as the pastor of his local church in Bolton.

A former builder, he had a complete change of direction in the mid 1980s, when he turned to theology and took up baking - embracing traditional flavours such as vanilla and chocolate.

Once again we have a good array of gentlemen taking part, dispelling the old sexist opinion that it is women who are always doing the cooking and baking.

Brian, who is originally from Greystones, outside Dublin, before moving to Furness, said: "I just think it's great now that men can have some diversity and all the emphasis is not just on men doing sport.

"I think it has made it much more acceptable for men to get creative in the kitchen. Men have always been chefs and bakers but for men who have another profession it's great that they can now see baking as a hobby too.

"My top tips would just be to keep things simple and use whatever you have in the house. Whether it's adding cranberries to muffins or throwing some bananas and dates in to a simple sponge mix. I always say you can't go wrong with a traditional Bramley apple pie."

One contestant, Jane, will draw on a long family tradition of baking when she presents her creations to Hollywood and Berry.

The 61-year-old garden designer's grandfather owned a bakery in Hastings, and as a child she watched her father pipe and ice the cakes.

Tom, 26, has managed to shed 30 kg despite his passion for baking. He believes in "moderation" and works for The Royal Society of Arts in London.

Also heading to the tent is this year's youngest contestant Michael, a 20-year-old from London who is studying politics and economics in Durham. Despite living in student digs, he enjoys making "big grand cakes" and making Greek pastries inspired by his Cypriot heritage.

The teaching profession will be well-represented, with 23-year-old teaching assistant Benjamina, 66-year-old former primary school head teacher Val, and 31-year-old secondary school PE teacher Candice all showing off their baking skills.

Also joining them in the Bake Off tent will be 46-year-old Welsh hairdresser Louise, 37-year-old nurse Kate from Norfolk, 30-year-old Ghanaian Selasi, who works as a client service associate in a financial institution, and 28-year-old Rav, who helps to support students at City University London.

In the lead up to the new season of Bake Off we would love to see your home made creation. Please email photos of your best cakes to: gabrielle.rowley@nwemail.co.uk.

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