Dorset Bake Off contestant Danni applied for show 'on a whim'

A contestant of the new series of the Great British Bake Off has said they applied to take part "on a whim" after getting "sick" of people urging them to apply.

Twelve new bakers will be introduced when the first episode airs on Channel 4 on Tuesday night, including Danni, an HGV service centre administrator from Dorset.

Other contestants include a paediatric doctor, a competitive sprinter, a hairdresser and a drag artist.

Ahead of the first episode, Danni said: "It's going to be so, so fun - I'm definitely watching it. It's going to be so good."

The Bake Off website describes Danni as "naturally curious and experimental" with a love of foraging.

Explaining how they came to be on the show, they said: "It's actually quite a funny story. I applied for the Bake Off on a whim.

"You know when you bring a baked good to any sort of function and they're like 'you should totally go on Bake Off', no matter how good the actual bake is?

"I got sick of people telling me that so I was like 'fine, I'll apply' and then I'll get rejected and then I'll be like 'well, I tried, oh dear'.

Danni, who lives with their parents, sister and three dogs, is also a tech enthusiast and loves decorating bakes with inspiration from video games and animation.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast show, they said: "I bake anything and everything. I do love baking so much.

"I'll make sausage rolls one week and the next week it'll be some sort of croquembouche."

When asked about the filming of the series during the hot summer, Danni said: "I won't say how, but the weather certainly did present a challenge.

"But everyone is so nicies all the time and they are so lovely.

"Genuinely, it's such a nice sense of camaraderie in the tent."

The contest, which sees amateur bakers compete to impress celebrity judges with their culinary creations, is now in its 17th series.

Dame Prue Leith, who left the show after nine years, has been replaced by Nigella Lawson.

Previous Dorset contestants have included Maggie from Poole, Carole from Sherborne and Nelly from Christchurch.

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