The Great Christmas Bake Off 2024 line-up: Confirmed contestants
We're headed back to the tent!
The Great British Bake Off may have only come to an end of screens a couple of months to go, but it's back for a Christmas special with a new cohort of celebrities vying to be crowned Star Baker.
This year's festive episode will see five soap stars head into the tent as they put their baking skills to the tent.
Those famous faces include Dean Gaffney, Sheree Murphy, Shobna Gulati, Natalie Cassidy and Chris Bisson – all from different corners of the soap world.
So, what is there to know about the stars headed into the festive tent? Read on for everything you need to know about The Great British Bake Off Christmas special.
Dean Gaffney
Age: 46
Instagram: @deangaffney1
Soap: EastEnders
Dean Gaffney is one of two EastEnders stars in the Bake Off tent this year. Gaffney is best known for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC soap, in which he appeared on from 1993 to 2003 and 2017 to 2019.
He has made guest appearance on the show in 2004, 2010 and 2015. Since departing the soap, Gaffney has appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Let's Dance for Comic Relief and Celebs Go Dating.
Sheree Murphy
Age: 49
Instagram: @shereemurphy
Soap: Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Neighbours.
Sheree Murphy is an actress best known for her various roles in a number of soaps and British sitcoms.
She appeared as Tricia Dingle in Emmerdale from 1998 to 2004, as Eva Strong in Hollyoaks from 2010 to 2011 and as Dakota Davies in Australian soap Neighbours in 2014 and 2018.
Some of her early acting credits include in Only Fools and Horses, The Bill and Berkeley Square. Beyond acting walls, Sheree has appeared on Loose Women, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Yes Chef.
Shobna Gulati
Age: 58
Instagram: @shobnagulati
Soap: Coronation Street
Shobna Gulati is best known for her role as Anita in dinnerladies, as well as Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street – whose exit fans have never gotten over.
Shobna also has a number of theatre credits to her name, including Everybody's Talking About Jamie, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and Hullraisers.
Her other TV work includes Inside No.9, Doctor Who and Midsomer Murders.
Natalie Cassidy
Age: 41
Instagram: @natcass1
Soap: EastEnders
Natalie Cassidy currently stars in EastEnders in the iconic role of Sonia Fowler, although her character is currently serving a stint in prison, for which she has been falsely accused!
Beyond EastEnders, Cassidy has appeared in an episode of The Catherine Tate Show, Strictly Come Dancing and Psychoville, in which she starred alongside Dawn French and Eileen Atkins.
Chris Bisson
Age: 49
Instagram: @chrisbisson
Soap: Coronation Street and Emmerdale
While Chris Bisson currently appears in Emmerdale as Jai Sharma, a role he has been in since 2009, he did once star in Coronation Street from 1999 to 2002 as Vikran Desai.
Beyond his soap career, Chris has appeared in Shameless, East Is East and Casualty.
The Great British Bake Off Christmas special will air on Christmas Day at 1:30pm.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
