What's the make-up of the ultimate GBBO winner?
02 September 2016If you think you have what it takes to be the next Great British Bake Off champion, you might have to think again.
New research into the iconic show’s finalists has revealed that the average Bake Off expert -and a likely future winner - is just 34 years old, likely working in a creative career, from the North-West and, most importantly, female.
However, the reign of the North-West is likely over, given none of the contestants this year hail from the region - which means four prime-aged London contestants could be in with a shout.
In order to reach the upper echelons of baking perfection, it also helps to be doing so without a family; the majority of finalists aren't married (13/24) and don’t have any children (14/24), and only one finalist in the history of Bake Off had any grandchildren.
The research, by money-saving website vouchercloud, revealed that women do dominate, but not by as much as you might expect - three quarters of winners (6/8) but only just over half (14/24) of finalists were female.
The iconic show, hitting our screens once more for Season 9 on August 28th takes on contestants of all ages and occupations in a battle royal of baking perfection - as long as they aren’t professional chefs or bakers.
However, the days of your grandmother being the darling of the kitchen baking scene are done – only three finalists in the history of the show were above the age of 50 - most recently Jane Beedle, in season 7 - and 9 of the 24 finalists were aged 30 or below. In fact, only one finalist – Nancy Birtwhistle, Season 5’s eventual winner – was a grandparent.
Only one finalist throughout the duration of the series was even retired – though three were housewives or husbands, and three were students. However, creative careers are where it’s at if you want to progress through the ranks and nail ‘Star Baker’ every week – almost a quarter of all finalists worked in ‘creative’ careers like photography and design, though one third (8/24) were honing their baking skills while not working at all (and were either housewives/husbands, students or retired).
That trend is changing, though - the last six finalists have all been employed full time while (or at least before) being on the show - it's all about multi-tasking, apparently.
With two full time parents bang in the peak Bake Off age range - Briony (33) and Dan (36) - 2018 could buck that trend, though 30 year old Civil Servant Luke - who doubles as a Techno DJ - could bring the best of both worlds when it comes to a business-led and creative career, particularly given he hails from London.
It does seemingly helps to come from a certain region – both the North West and Yorkshire have produced two winners each, with up North claiming four of the eight titles on offer. However, when it comes to finalists, it’s the North West that dominates, claiming 6 of the 24 finalist spots since the shows inception - followed by London and the East of England (4). The South West and, surprisingly, the North East are lagging behind, with neither having contributed a contestant to an iconic GBBO finale across any of the eight seasons.
Chris Johnson, Head of Affiliate Operations, commented:
“It’s really interesting to see that some patterns emerge, despite the varied contestants across the eight series so far. The women are only narrowly beating the men, however, and the average age is especially surprising – who’d have thought that when the series started, the average age of the winners and finalists would be just 34, and two contestants under the age of 25 would have won?
“Though all that being said, the winners have ranged from 24 years old to 60, and have been anything from a debt collector to a retired grandmother. It shows that despite the patterns and predictions, the field will always be wide open and it truly will be the best baker that will claim the iconic GBBO title”.
The Data
Winner's Gender
Male: 2
Female: 6
Finalists' Genders
Male: 10
Female: 14
Average Winner's Age
34 years, 2 months
Average Finalist's Age
35 years, 5 months
Winners are parents: 3/8
Finalists are parents: 10/24
Winners are married: 3/8
Finalists are married: 11/24
Regions:
| Region |
Finalists |
Winners |
|
North West |
6 |
2 |
|
London |
4 |
1 |
|
East of England |
4 |
1 |
|
East Midlands |
3 |
1 |
|
South East |
2 |
1 |
|
West Midlands |
2 |
0 |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
2 |
2 |
|
South West |
0 |
0 |
|
North East |
0 |
0 |
Careers:
|
Career |
Finalists |
Winners |
|
Unemployed (outside of work, student, housewife etc.) |
8 |
4 |
|
Creative |
5 |
1 |
|
Forces/Services |
1 |
1 |
|
Business |
4 |
|
|
Engineer |
1 |
|
|
Construction |
1 |
|
|
Finance |
1 |
1 |
|
Food |
1 |
|
|
Medical |
1 |
|
|
Education |
1 |
1 |
More data, specifically on region and occupation and the background of each winner and finalist, is available upon request.
Contact
Get in touch with Ben Harrow here for more information, or with any questions and queries.
