'Great British Bake Off' 2022 all you need to know: Start date, bakers and judges

Great British Bake Off season is finally here, with season 13 fresh from the oven and ready to sink our teeth into.

Not much changes in the contest's format, which struck gold in the eyes of viewers from the very first series, but there are of course the stars of the show to get to know.

Read more: All the Bake Off winners and where they are now

Here's all we know so far about The Great British Bake Off 2022.

When does The Great British Bake Off 2022 start?

The 13th season of the show is set to begin on Tuesday, 13 September at 8pm on Channel 4.

Channel 4 has confirmed that the series launch will go ahead as planned, despite some other broadcasters rescheduling shows following the Queen's death.

When confirming that the new series of Gogglebox would air on 9 September, a Channel 4 statement explained that they had remained respectful by providing extended news coverage about the Queen, but that going ahead with scheduled shows would provide "a valuable sense of continuity" for viewers.

The statement added: “Channel 4 exists to offer viewers an alternative and that is particularly important at times like this."

It will be the sixth series of Bake Off to air on Channel 4, with the previous seven broadcast by the BBC.

Who are the judges and hosts of this year's contest?

Fans of the show will know there is rarely a change in the line-up of judges and hosts, and when it does happen, it's pretty big news.

This year will see the return of all four stars from the previous two series - Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood are back to judge, while the show will be hosted by comedians Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas.

Hollywood has been with the show the longest, ever since series one, and was the only original star to make the move to Channel 4 while his previous co-judge Mary Berry and hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins exited along with the BBC.

Lucas is the newest signing, having taken over from Sandi Toksvig to co-host with Fielding in 2020.

Who are The Great British Bake Off 2022's bakers?

The 12 bakers battling it out for the trophy have been named ahead of the series launch.

The male contestants are electronics engineer Abdul, 29; nuclear scientist James, 25; head teacher's PA Janusz, 34; music teacher Kevin, 33; nanny Sandro, 30; and 45-year-old former charity director Will.

Read more: The most exciting TV still to come in 2022

While the females are supermarket cashier Carole, 59; IT manager Dawn, 60; student and sales assistant Maisam, 18; architectural assistant Maxy, 29; masters student Rebs, 23; and 32-year-old cardiovascular research assistant Syabira.

This year's bakers are a talented bunch - Kevin plays a variety of musical instruments, Maisam speaks five languages, Sandro can box, ballet dance and breakdance, and Carole has her own gardening show on local radio called Compost Carole.

Viewers will also see the bakers bring a variety of international flavours to the tent, drawing on their backgrounds with Syabira from Malaysia, Janusz from Poland, Sandro from Angola, Swedish Maxy, Libyan Maisam, and Abdul from Saudi Arabia.

The Great British Bake Off returns at 8pm on Tuesday, 13 September on Channel 4.

Watch: Bake Off 2022 announces its bakers