The Great British Bake Off - The Great Christmas Bake Off 2023 - 12:30 am Friday, December 19 on Channel 4

About this Broadcast

The Great Christmas Bake Off 2023
Season 1, Episode 1

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith judge a Christmas special featuring the Baker Ghosts of Christmas Past - one contestant from each previous series broadcast on Channel 4. They welcome Sophie from series 8, Dan from series 9, Amelia from series 10, Linda from series 11, George from series 12 and Carole from series 13 into the tent, before ending their festive celebration with a performance from the Citizens of the World Choir

HD subtitles repeat sign-language audio-description

Cooking Leisure Hobbies

Did You Know..

Paul Hollywood (Judge)

Born: March 01, 1966 in Wallasey, Merseyside

Best Known For: The Great British Bake Off.

Early-life: Paul John Hollywood was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, on March 1, 1966. He studied sculpture at the Wallasey School of Art before quitting to work at his father's bakery.

Career: Hollywood went on to become head baker at a number of hotels, including The Dorchester, Chester Grosvenor and Spa and the Clivedon Hotel. He began making a number of guest appearances on TV shows such as The Generation Game, This Morning, and The Alan Titchmarsh Show. His big break came in 2010 when he started working alongside fellow judge Mary Berry on popular BBC Two baking show The Great British Bake Off. In May 2013, he began appearing on US TV as a judge on The American Baking Competition.

Quote: "The real Paul Hollywood is shy, likes nothing better than going home, putting on slippers and dressing gown, having a cup of tea and watching telly."

Trivia: Hollywood has written a number of books on baking, including 100 Great Breads, How to Bake, and American Baking Competition.

Prue Leith (Judge)

Born: February 18, 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa

Best Known For: Being a judge on The Great British Bake Off.

Early-life: Born Prudence Margaret Leith in South Africa in 1940. Her mother, Margaret Inglis, was a successful actress and, according to Prue, the 'worst cook in the world'. Prue had a very happy childhood, although she has said that if she could give her teenage self one piece of advice, it would be to be more sensitive to the inequalities of apartheid-era South Africa. She left school with no real idea of what she wanted to do _ she toyed with becoming an actress, architect or an artist. It was only while studying in Paris to improve her French that she discovered her love of cooking and realised she wanted a career in food.

Career: In 1960, Prue arrived in London to attend the Cordon Bleu Cookery School. She went on to launch her own catering business and restaurant, as well as a cookery school. She also became a successful food writer, with columns in many national papers, and penned novels as well as cook books. Prue didn't enjoy her first TV experience, which saw her hosting a personality magazine show, but in the personality she found success as a judge on BBC's Great British Menu. She left the show after 11 years, intending to retire, only to land her most high-profile TV job to date when she took over from her friend Mary Berry as a judge on The Great British Menu.

Quote: "My very first book, Leigh's All-Party Cookbook, had the dedication, ‘For my mother, who can't cook for toffee, but gave marvellous parties anyway'. I wanted to make the point that food isn't the only thing that goes into a party - your friends have not come to judge you."

Trivia: In July 2017, she was installed as the Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.

Sophia Reid (Series producer)

Jeanette Goulbourn (Series director)

Letty Kavanagh (Executive producer)

Kieran Smith (Executive producer)

Richard McKerrow (Executive producer)