Who is Crystelle on The Great British Bake Off? Meet the singer taking part in the new series

Quadrilingual Crystelle loves using spices in her bakes.
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Crystelle - who sings in an online choir - is one of the 12 amateur bakers who will compete in the Great British Bake Off.

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Crystelle, 26, is a client relationship manager from north-west London, who uses her diverse heritage to inspire her baking.

Crystelle GBBO contestant. Photo: Channel 4Crystelle GBBO contestant. Photo: Channel 4
Crystelle GBBO contestant. Photo: Channel 4

Who is Crystelle?

Quadrilingual Crystelle says she will use her wonderfully diverse heritage as inspiration with her baking in the tent.

She was born in northwest London to Kenyan born, Portuguese-Goan parents.

And Crystelle says she takes all of these flavours into her baking.

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The youngest of three daughters, she explained she was also “the chief-taster” as she helped her mother prepare their family meals. When Crystelle travels with friends, she says it’s her job to make a list of the best restaurants and bakeries in the cities they visit.

The client relationship manager only began baking seriously three years ago and loves fusing spices from the places she’s visited into her bakes.

A fougasse infused with turmeric, curry powder and spring onion is a firm favourite.

Crystelle is also an enthusiastic singer, having kept herself busy over lockdown with her online choir.

Noel, Prue, Paul and Matt with The Bakers. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love ProductionsNoel, Prue, Paul and Matt with The Bakers. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions
Noel, Prue, Paul and Matt with The Bakers. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions

Who are the other bakers?

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Chigs, 40, from Leicestershire, is a sales manager who loves sky diving. With his baking, he likes to do intricate chocolate work.

Freya, 19, is a psychology student from North Yorkshire. She’s a vegan baker, and loves riding her horse Winnie.

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Giuseppe, 45, is a chief engineer from Bristol. The dad-of-three loves cooking Italian-flavoured bakes for his sons.

Jürgen, 56, is a trombonist from the Black Forest, Germany, who moved to Sussex. He’s works in IT and takes that precision into his baking.

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Maggie, 70, is a retired nurse and midwife from Dorset who loves the great outdoors. She loves making traditional bakes.

Rochica, 27, a junior business partner in HR from Birmingham. She’s been a dancer since the age of two, and loves using Jamaican flavours in her bakes.

Tom, 28, is a software developer from Kent who loves to sing and run. He loves to take the foundations of a recipe and make it his own.

Paul, Noel, Prue and Matt. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love ProductionsPaul, Noel, Prue and Matt. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions
Paul, Noel, Prue and Matt. Picture: Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions

When is the Great British Bake Off on this year?

The newest season of the Great British Bake Off will kick off on Tuesday 21 September.

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It will air at 8pm on Channel 4, and will be available to watch on demand through All4 if you miss it live.

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith are still the judges, and the show will be presented by Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas.

Who won last year?

The 11th series, which aired in late 2020, saw cast and crew move into Down Hall Hotel near Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, throughout the duration of filming, after being tested for the virus and self-isolating.

Peter Sawkins, an accounting and finance student from Edinburgh, was crowned the show’s youngest ever winner at 20.

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He was also the first winner from Scotland in the show’s decade-long history.

The programme also saw its biggest-ever final on Channel 4, attracting a record average audience of 9.2 million viewers and a 39.7% share of the audience.