Great British Bake Off 2016: Things you might not know about this year's contestants

Including a TED talker who wants to ban 'teachers'

The twelve new bakers joining Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in The Great British Bake Off tent (BBC)

The hype surrounding the Great British Bake Off appears to increase every year as fans eagerly anticipate the return of Britain’s ultimate TV guilty pleasure.

Last year’s winner Nadiya Hussain, who won in an emotional final watched by more than 13 million people, has since gone on to write cookbooks, newspaper columns, appear regularly on Loose Women and have a two-part documentary about her life called The Chronicles of Nadiya.

Before the show has even started, some of this year’s contestants are slowly but surely building up a following on social media. A quick look at their Instagram has already sparked predictions for those who may fare well this series.

Here are some things you might not know about the contestants vying for the respect and admiration of Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in 2016:

The dieter

A room surrounded by cakes is probably the last place you would advise someone who has just been on a weight loss mission to be.

However, Tom Gilliford, 26, will be entering the tent despite recently losing almost five stone (30kgs) and now adopts an approach of "everything in moderation".

The 'Hells Angel'

Selasi Gbormittah's two main hobbies are quite a contrast. When not in the kitchen, he is part of a 'Sunday Motorbike club' and regularly shares photos of his beloved bikes in and amongst the cupcakes. Selasi certainly has an active streak as he has run half marathons, 10ks, cycles and plays basketball. Another fun fact: He can eat 12 doughnuts in 13 minutes

The adventurer

While baking might be an activity confined to the kitchen, Louise Williams from Merthyr Tydfil likes to get out and about just as much. The 46-year-old is a keen hiker and once trekked for four days across the Andes.

The builder-turned-pastor

Lee Blanfield is now pastor of his local church, a solid career change from his origins as a builder. He left his labouring position in the 1980s and turned to studying theology. This was also around the time he started baking while recovering from a back injury from playing cricket.

The vegan baker

With all the milk, butter and eggs involved in baking, a vegan baker is an unlikely addition to the tent. However, perhaps in a move to reflect the growing emergence and popularity of different food groups Rav Bansal is joining the show.

As detailed on his website, Rav adopted a vegan diet for six months in 2014 and during this time experimented with vegan baking sharing recipes and pictures of vegan brownies, cupcakes and birthday cakes, respectively.

The 'TED' talker

Tom is an active educational and political campaigner and has even had a taste of fame by doing his own Ted talk. In March, Tom, a former teacher and the founder of a school, took to the stage to put his case forward for banning and reforming the role of teachers.