The Great British Bake Off

Twelve new amateur bakers don their aprons and head for the iconic tent in the heart of the British countryside. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins are back, as are Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, who have devised 30 new challenges to test the bakers' knowlege, skill and creativity.

The competition begins with cake week. The group first take on a British classic and are then faced with Mary's technical challenge - a popular little cake with a fatless sponge and tricky chocolate work. Finally, the bakers have the opportunity to show the judges what they can do with their showstopper.

The best of the bunch will be crowned star baker while one contestant will be leaving the tent.

It is week two of The Great British Bake Off, and it is crunch time as Paul and Mary set the bakers three biscuit challenges.

The bakers start with a signature challenge, but who will snap first with just a few hours to make 24 identical decorated biscuits?

Hidden under the gingham cloth is a technical challenge that requires perfect piping to avoid a crumbling whirl.

Sue Perkins drops in for tea and history as she discovers the etiquette of dunking biscuits, from Victorian high society right back to Greek survival biscuits.

The final showstopper challenge requires precision baking to build a biscuit structure that reveals a little more about each of the bakers.

It is bread week, and Paul Hollywood has put together three of the toughest challenges ever. First up is the signature challenge - a sweet dough with a twist. And with Paul's digits primed for prodding, no dough is safe from scrutiny.

The bakers then face a steamy technical challenge without an oven, as Paul and Mary step out of the tent to leave the bakers with only a basic set of instructions and ingredients. For the perfect bake they have to avoid a burnt bottom and a soggy top.

Mel heads to Germany to discover how one brave baker and a few hundred dumplings saved his small town from the ravages of the Thirty Years' War.

And there is a mighty final challenge which requires the use of three different flours to create a huge showstopper centrepiece.

It's week four of The Great British Bake Off, just nine bakers remains, and - for the very first time - it is Batter Week. Mary and Paul have set three challenges to test the bakers on some store cupboard classics. To start things off there is a British favourite. It may sound simple, but the judges are looking for perfection - a uniform bake across the batch and a tasty savoury filling. The bakers really have to rise to the occasion in this signature challenge.

The technical challenge requires a steady hand to master its intricacies, and there's no room for error.

And finally there is a showstopper where the ovens are off and the fryers are out, as the bakers are challenged to do their version of a Spanish classic.

Three challenges, three chances to win star baker, three chances to avoid leaving the tent.

It is Pastry Week, and with just eight bakers left, Mary and Paul are looking for perfection. They have set three challenges to test the bakers on three very different types of pastry. For the signature challenge it is breakfast time, Danish style.

In the technical challenge, Mary asks the bakers to keep their cool, giving them limited time and instructions to bake a classic British tart. Mel takes a shift at a London Turkish bakery making baklava, and she discovers the history of this delicate desert that hailed from the palaces of Sultans.

And finally there is a bite-size showstopper, a fine pastry which notoriously difficult to make and even trickier to bake. Which bakers will impress Mary and Paul enough to keep their place in the tent, and who will be heading home?

It's week six of The Great British Bake Off and just seven bakers remain. This week, for the very first time on Bake Off, it's Botanical Week.

There are three challenges inspired by nature. The bakers can reach for anything that grows to give their bakes maximum botanical taste.

The bakers start with a signature challenge with a twist, that demands sharp citrus flavours and perfect peaks. Hidden under the gingham cloth is a leafy technical challenge set by Mr Hollywood. And finally, the botanical showstopper is the biggest challenge of the series so far - not one, not two, but three tiers of elaborately decorated cake.

Paul and Mary are looking for beautifully flavoured sponges and to be wowed by stunning floral designs. Three challenges, three chances to win star baker, three chances to avoid leaving the tent.

Week seven of The Great British Bake Off is Dessert week. Three sweet challenges which will mean a bitter end for one of the six remaining bakers as they battle for a place in the quarter-final.

For starters the bakers face a sweetly filled signature challenge that has them rolling out their skills to impress Mary and Paul.

And if that wasn't enough, the technical challenge is one of the toughest of the series so far, which layers on the pressure as the bakers are tested on a tricky French dessert.

Sue heads to Paris for a lesson on the history of praline and nibbles on a few of these nutty delicacies.

And finally there is a multi-bake mini-showstopper that is a bit of a mousse marathon. But which of the bakers will impress Mary and Paul enough to earn their place in the quarter-final, and which baker will be hanging up their apron and heading home?

This week we are stepping back in history for a Bake Off first - Tudor Week. Mary and Paul have set three new challenges that embrace a time when Henry VIII reigned, a time of flamboyant banquets and impressive centre pieces that were Tudor showstoppers.

The signature is a Tudor classic - pies. Although a few hundred years ago their pies would have been filled with feathered birds, our bakers will attempt to make a rather more edible version for modern taste of a savoury stuffed pie.

In the technical challenge, the bakers face a rather unusual Tudor biscuit that has the them all tied up in knots.

Mel pops into Hampton Court to uncover how one sweet delicacy nearly enticed Queen Elizabeth I to marry.

And the final challenge is to construct a showstopper that is a spectacle of marzipan, fit to grace the tables of a wealthy Tudor banquet.

Which of the five bakers will make it into the semi-final, and who will be leaving the tent?

It is the Bake Off semi-final, and it is Patisserie Week, with just four bakers remaining. In the signature challenge, the bakers are once again butter-bashing and folding their pastry to achieve perfect lamination for a difficult French pastry.

In the technical challenge, Paul has set the bar high. He is testing the bakers' patisserie prowess with a yeast-based cake that has a fruity top and delicate chocolate work.

The showstopper is the bakers' last chance to prove they have what it takes to make it to the final, with a multiple mini-cake bake. The timings are crucial to achieve the high-end finish the judges are looking for.

Which of the bakers will impress Mary and Paul enough to earn their place in next week's final, and who will be leaving the tent?

It is the final, and with just three of the original twelve bakers remaining. The theme for the final is a Royal Bake Off, as the tent plays host to three challenges to impress the Queen.

The last signature challenge sees a return to meringues, a challenge that a few of the bakers stumbled over in week six.

For the technical challenge, Mary has made a simple bake very, very tough, as she has only given the bakers one recipe instruction. The rest is down to them. It may be a very British classic, but with no measurements, this is the ultimate test of the final three bakers' intuition.

Then on the final day, as the bakers' families gather outside the tent, the finalists face their last showstopper. This is the most complex one ever seen on Bake Off, and there are the most bakes ever requested in a challenge. With only one oven, it's five solid hours of baking for the finalists to prove they deserve the winner's trophy.

Who will be named the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2016?

The tent has been decorated and the invitations have been sent out for two very special Christmas episodes of "The Great British Bake Off." Eight bakers of "Bake Off" past return to the tent to compete once more. In this first episode there's another chance to see Mary-Anne from Series 2, Ali from Series 4, Cathryn from Series 3 and Norman from Series 5.

The bakers face three festive challenges, starting with the signature challenge. Paul and Mary want them to make some highly decorative Christmas bakes that require intricate icing.

For the technical challenge, Mary has a special present of mystery ingredients and a recipe which, if the bakers follow correctly, will produce a stunning bake, decorated with chocolate snowflakes.

And finally there is the showstopper, for which the bakers must produce a festive masterpiece with Christmas theme.

The tent has been decorated and the invitations have been sent out for two very special Christmas episodes of "The Great British Bake Off," featuring returning contestants from previous years. A festive welcome awaits four more returning bakers - Chetna from Series 5, Howard from Series 4, James M from Series 3 and Janet from Series 2.

The judges have set three festive challenges, starting with a savoury signature to get the Christmas party started. In the technical, Paul has a gifted them a bread challenge that's not for the faint-hearted. The final challenge, the showstopper, is huge, as the judges lay the festive gauntlet and ask the bakers to make a trio of Christmas favourites. But who will hold their nerve and produce the perfect desserts?