''Junior Bake Off'' is a British television

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

competition in which young bakers aged 9 to 15 tackle a series of challenges involving baking cakes, biscuits, bread, and pastries, competing to be crowned ''Junior Bake Off'' Champion. The series debuted in 2011 as a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

from ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'' and is also produced by Love Productions. Four series of ''Junior Bake Off'' were broadcast on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...

from 2011 to 2016. Following its parent series' departure from the BBC in 2017, ''Junior Bake Off'' resumed with a fifth series in 2019 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, with comedian Harry Hill as presenter and

Prue Leith Dame Prudence Margaret Leith, (born 18 February 1940) is a South African restaurateur, chef, caterer, television presenter/broadcaster, journalist, cookery writer and novelist. She is Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She wa ...

and

Liam Charles Liam Charles (born 28 August 1997) is a British baker, television presenter and contestant from Series 8 of ''The Great British Bake Off''. He is currently a presenter on '' Bake Off: The Professionals'' and a judge on '' Junior Bake Off''. Edu ...

as judges. The fifth series concluded on 22 November 2019. The show returned for a sixth series on 11 January 2021. Junior Bake Off returned Monday 10 January 2022 for its seventh series and concluded on 28 January 2022. It was confirmed that ''Junior Bake Off'' will return in 2023 for its eighth series.

Format

Each series of ''Junior Bake Off'' includes 15 episodes. While ''

'' features three challenges per episode (signature, technical, and showstopper), ''Junior Bake Off'' includes only the technical and showstopper challenges. In the first four series, aired on

from 2011–16, the format featured 40 young bakers aged 9 to 12 years old divided into 10 qualifying rounds or heats. Each episode featured only four bakers, with one winner each episode and the other three eliminated. The winning baker from each heat were brought back for 'Finals Week' (divided into two semi-finals, followed by two finals, and then one grand final) which determined the winner. The format was altered in 2019 when the series moved to

. The episodes were increased from 30 minutes to one hour, the number of bakers halved to 20 (16 from series 6), and the upper age range of the contestants increased from 12 to 15 (changed back to 12 from series 8). Instead of only four bakers taking part in each qualifying round, the bakers are divided into two groups of 10 each, with five eliminated from one group during the first five episodes, and five eliminated from the second group during the second five episodes. The remaining five bakers from each group are combined in the week-long finals, resulting in quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The 'Star Baker' award, given to the judges' favourite baker in each episode, was not included in the CBBC version of the show but is a part of the Channel 4 format.

Series overview

Series 1 (2011)

The first series began on 31 October 2011 on CBBC with judges from the main show

Paul Hollywood Paul John Hollywood (born 1 March 1966) is an English celebrity chef and television presenter, widely known as a judge on ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2010. Hollywood began his career at his father's bakery as a teenager and went on to ...

and Mary Berry.

Series 2 (2013)

A second series began on 11 November 2013 on CBBC. Chef James Martin replaces Hollywood as judge.

Series 3 (2015)

A third series began airing on 2 November 2015 on CBBC, with

Sam Nixon Sam Nixon is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the ''Pop Idol'' television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo Sam & Mark, with the other being Mark Rhodes. Early life He was originally a catering stude ...

and Mark Rhodes replacing Craze as hosts. Allegra McEvedy and Graham Hornigold took over from Berry and Martin as judges.

Series 4 (2016)

The fourth series began on 7 November 2016 on CBBC. Allegra McEvedy returns as judge with Nadiya Hussain replacing Graham Hornigold. Presenters Sam & Mark returned to host.

Series 5 (2019)

The fifth series began on 4 November 2019 on Channel 4. Harry Hill presented the series which was judged by

and

Series 6 (2021)

The sixth series of ''Junior Bake Off'' began on 11 January 2021 on Channel 4 with Ravneet Gill replacing

Series 7 (2022)

The seventh series of ''Junior Bake Off'' began on 10 January 2022 on Channel 4. The series concluded on 28 January 2022.

International versions

There's a Brazilian version of ''Junior Bake Off'' called '' Junior Bake Off Brasil'', which currently broadcasts on

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References

External links

* * {{The Great British Bake Off 2011 British television series debuts 2010s British children's television series 2020s British children's television series CBBC shows BBC children's television shows English-language television shows Channel 4 original programming British television spin-offs Reality television spin-offs The Great British Bake Off 2010s British cooking television series 2020s British cooking television series Television series about children Television series about teenagers