How Much Money Does the 'Great British Bake Off' Winner Make?
By Lillian Marx
The season finale of Great British Bake Off is a completely euphoric affair. After weeks of hard work, the show’s winner is warmly celebrated by friends, family, fellow contestants, and judges in an absolutely splendid garden party. They get a trophy—in the form of a cake stand—and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. But do they get paid?
Turns out the cake stand and the flowers are the only compensation for Great British Bake Off winners. That’s right—there is no cash prize, and none of the contestants are paid for filming the show.
That’s a little hard to swallow given how intense the competition is. Contestants are expected to film for up to eight hours a day, and they’re interviewed about eight times a day, as 2013 winner Frances Quinn told Cosmopolitan. “We had to get a train down on the Friday and we’d have a wake up call at 5am, we’d be in the tent at 7am," she explained. "We’d wrap filming at about 8pm and then it would be the same again the next day. I’d get back at about midnight on the Sunday."
Bakers are also expected to foot the bill for all of the ingredients and supplies they need to practice at home between challenges. “To some of them [the contestants], just buying the ingredients to practice at home has pushed them to the limit in terms of their finances,” former presenter Sandi Toksvig told Radio Times in 2017.
That said, the amateur bakers who appear on the show can go onto great things, including great things that pay well. Former contestants have published cookbooks, started cooking schools, and leveraged their newfound celebrity for other appearances. By far the most successful Bake Off winner is Nadiya Hussain (from Series 6). She went on to host not one, but five TV shows. She's also written multiple cookbooks and children’s books, plus a memoir and a novel. Oh, and she baked Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday cake. No big deal.
So Bake Off winners might not earn much from the show directly, but their future earnings are practically guaranteed. And have you ever seen a happier group of reality TV contestants? We didn’t think so.