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The Great British Bake Off is one of the biggest shows of the Autumn season, with plenty of Hollywood Handshakes and wholesome goodness – and Channel 4 announced who will be competing for the crown in 2024. Here’s everything you need to know, including when to tune in, who the presenters are, how to watch it from the US and abroad and how to apply to compete in the main series yourself.  When is Bake Off coming back? Channel 4 has revealed that The Great British Bake Off series 15 will air on Tuesday 24 September 2024 at 8pm BST, which is what we predicted. In the US, The Great British Bake Off typically hits Netflix on Fridays. Based on the launch date, The Great British Baking Show will be available to stream on Friday 27 September 2024 in America. While you wait for the new series, take a look at this best of Bake Off compilation: In these modern times, you don’t just have to watch the bakers struggle with a technical recipe the traditional way. Instead, you can watch on the Channel 4 website – live or on-demand with catch-up through a wide range of devices including smart TVs, games consoles, media streamers, phones and tablets. Is there a trailer for The Great British Bake Off 2024? While there isn’t a full classic trailer yet, Channel 4 has been teasing the show in its indents during the Paralympics. These have cartoon bee versions of the presenters, who have a brief fun conversation. You can watch the brief Bake Off 2024 teasers here. On Friday 6 September, Channel 4 released a longer animated trailer for the show, teasing that the new series would be “coming soon”. Watch that below: Who are the Bake Off 2024 contestants? The bakers for this year’s series have now been announced. Find out more about them below: Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 Andy – Age 44, from Essex, Car Mechanic: Andy learned to bake alongside his mum, and loves family staples such as apple crumble and Bakewell tarts Christiaan – Age 33, from The Netherlands, Menswear Designer: Christiaan’s love of fashion and gardening translate to his bakes, which are detailed, beautiful and full of floral and citrus notes and flavours Sumayah – Age 19, from Lancashire, Dentistry Student: Her love of baking came from a macaron tower she made for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration Dylan – Age 30, from Buckinghamshire, Retail Temp: Dylan uses sweet and spice in is baking, inspired by his Indian and Japanese-Belgian mixed race heritage Georgie – Age 34, from Carmarthenshire, Paediatric Nurse: Forager Georgie takes inspiration from food that grows in the wild, and the discoveries she’s made travelling Gill – Age 53, From Lancashire, Senior Category Manager: Gill’s love of prevision data and creativity translate to her baking skills, which she’s had since she was young Hazel – Age 71, From Kent, Former Nail Technician: Hazel loves adding working parts to her bakes, including cars with remote-controlled wheels and lights Illiyin – Age 31, From Norfolk, Birth Trauma Specialist Midwife: One of eight siblings, Illiyin helped her mum to bake and became the person to rely on for birthdays Jeff – Age 67, From New York, Former University Lecturer: Jeff baked from being little, learning from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother Mike – Age 29, From Wiltshire, Farm Manager: Mike enjoys big, hearty beaks using high-quality local ingredients, especially seasonal fruits from his own farm Nelly – Age 44, From Slovakia, Palliative Care Assistant: Self-taught baker Nelly adds Slovakian flavours to her bakes, and spices that represent her husband’s Pakistani heritage John – Age 37, From West Midlands, Directorate Support Manager: John learned baking from his nan, and loves to make classics with a twist It's time to meet your new besties ❤️Bake Off starts Tuesday 24th September at 8pm on Channel 4. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/fIfsgPJuF7— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) September 16, 2024 Who are the presenters and judges for Bake Off 2024? Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will once again be judging our bakers. There were rumours that Prue would retire after this series, but the judge has so far claimed that she’s only taking a break from the Celebrity edition of the show. She explains more below: Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will return for presenting duties – expect plenty of laughter as usual. Who won The Great British Bake Off 2023? The winner of The Great British Bake Off 2023 was Matty, the underdog of the year who went from strength to strength during the show: Where to watch Bake Off from outside the UK As per usual, Bake Off will be available through regular UK broadcast TV (or however you get your TV), airing on Channel 4. If you want to watch from outside the UK – such as the US, where you might know it as The Great British Baking Show – then there are a couple of ways to watch the latest series.  Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix Netflix US has the rights to The Great British Baking Show, and typically airs the latest episodes three days after they release in the UK. Therefore, you can catch all the activity in the tent on Fridays, providing you have a Netflix account. Subscriptions for this start from $6.99 per month.  Watch The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 with a VPN If you’re worried about spoilers and want to watch the new series as soon as it airs, then there is another way: use a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear as if your device is local if you want to watch along with the UK on the Channel 4 website. There are loads of VPNs out there, but our top recommendations are NordVPN and Surfshark, both of which we’ve found to be reliable, speedy, and pretty affordable. If you want to see what other options are out there, then take a look at our list of the best VPNs for streaming video. Once you’ve downloaded and installed your VPN onto your device, here’s the steps you need to take: Connect to a UK sever on your chosen VPN Head to the Channel 4 website or app  Sign up for an account (it’s free, but requires your email) Search for The Great British Bake Off, click on the latest season and watch away! The Channel 4 website requires you to turn off any ad-blockers – which includes any optional ad-blocking in your VPN – so make sure you do that before trying to watch. If you still can’t connect, try a different server within your VPN until you find one that works for you. Please note that this is against Channel 4’s terms of service, so proceed at your own risk. How to apply to be on the GBBO  If you’re a budding baker and would like to apply for Bake Off, then applications for 2025 will likely open when the new series returns. You’ll be able to enter via the official sign-up page. ...

This October, Disney+ US subscribers are in for yet another price hike. The cheapest ad-supported tier will be increasing from $7.99 per month to $9.99 per month – the first price increase we’ve seen since this option was introduced. There’s no annual version available for this tier. The standard ad-free tier will be increasing from $13.99 per month and $139.99 per year to $15.99 per month and $159.99 per year for both new and existing subscribers. In addition, two other streaming services under the Disney umbrella will see a price increase. Hulu’s ad-supported tier will be changing from $7.99 per month to $9.99 per month, while the ad-free one will increase from $17.99 per month to $19.99 per month. Sports service ESPN+ prices will go up from $10.99 per month to $11.99 per month. With the cost of living creeping up, this price increase won’t be a joy for many. However, if you time it right, you can save money for longer. We’ve rounded up all the options you can try to keep costs down. You can also read up on Disney’s plans to crack down on password sharing. Buy an annual subscription The first thing you can do is buy or renew your account with an annual subscription before the price hike kicks in. An annual subscription currently costs $139.99. If you’re a new subscriber, you can sign up for this on the Disney+ website. If you need to renew, take the following steps before 17 October 2024: Open the Disney+ website in your browser Click on the profile icon on the right-hand side and tap ‘Account’ on the drop-down menu Follow the steps to manage your account and change your subscription – this will be different depending on how you pay for Disney+ The closer you wait until the date that the price increase takes effect, the longer you can avoid the price increase. If, however, you’re mid-way through your annual subscription by the middle of October, this may be a pain. Fortunately, there is another thing you can do. Buy a 12-month Disney+ gift subscription Another way to save money ahead of the Disney+ price hike is to buy a 12-month gift subscription for yourself. Gift subscriptions can be activated at any time. Therefore, you could lock in for an annual subscription first, and then activate this when your 12 months are up to keep the lower prices for longer. There’s currently no expiration date on gift subscriptions, so we don’t see why this shouldn’t be possible.  Disney Disney Disney Here’s what you’ll need to do before 17 October 2024 if you’re in the US: Head to the Disney+ gift subscription page Enter the recipient’s name and email address – make sure it’s an address not registered with the site already as it only applies to new customers Purchase the 12-month subscription for $139.99 Once the gift card arrives in your inbox, don’t activate it until you wish to When you want to use the gift card, sign up for a brand-new Disney+ account using the gift card as your payment option Change to a Disney+ bundle subscription If you frequently switch between different streaming services, then it may be worth opting for a bundle instead which is much more economical. The Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle starts from $10.99 per month. As well as all your Disney staples like The Acolyte and MCU films, you’ll also get access to shows such as Only Murders in the Building and Shōgun, and a plethora of sports. There’s also a new bundle with Disney+, Hulu and Max – so you can stream the likes of House of the Dragon and The White Lotus. This starts from $16.99 per month. Bundle in Disney+ with a broadband contract Another way to keep costs down with your streaming subscription is to bundle in Disney+ with a broadband contract. The longest Disney+ offer we’ve seen so far is for six months of the service with one of Verizon’s unlimited data plans in the US. You can read more about this deal in our article on how to get a discount on Disney+.  Cancel your subscription altogether If none of these options are suitable for you, then you can cancel your account with Disney+ altogether. You can always rejoin further down the line if a show/movie you’re desperate to watch becomes available on the platform. Here’s what you need to do to cancel a subscription: Open the Disney+ website in your browser Click on the profile icon on the right-hand side and tap ‘Account’ on the drop-down menu Follow the steps to manage your account and cancel your subscription You can find more granular instructions – including how to cancel from a phone or TV – in our guide to cancelling Disney+. ...

The glitz and glamour of Strictly is finally back on our TV screens. September’s launch show revealed all the pairings for this year’s competition and gave viewers a sneak preview of the dance abilities with the infamous group performance. However, the show has made headlines for other reasons, with several former contestants reporting negative experiences with partners and producers alike. Since then, two professional dancers have been let go, and an investigation remains ongoing. If you’d like to know what’s in store for Strictly 2024, we have everything you need to know. When is the first live Strictly show? The launch show aired last weekend, and the first week of the live competition will air this Saturday, 21 September 2024 at 7pm BST. Watch the first group dance below: Who are the Strictly contestants and professional partners? Here are all the paring taking part in Strictly 2024: Comedian Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell Singer and presenter JB Gill and Amy Dowden Broadcaster and opera singer Wynne Evans and Katya Jones Singer and actress Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones Media medic Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Márquez Model and TV personality Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec TV personality Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał Actor and singer Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu Actress Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola Actor Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas Olympian Tom Dean MBE and Nadiya Bychkova Gladiator and Olympian Montell Douglas/Fire and Johannes Radebe TV presenter Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk Footballer and broadcaster Paul Merson and Karen Hauer Olympian and TV presenter Sam Quek MBE and Nikita Kuzmin 🪩 And here they are… your #Strictly stars!The Class of 2024 are ready to take to the ballroom floor when Strictly Come Dancing returnsMore ➡️ https://t.co/M38r3cfdYp pic.twitter.com/MxkxweKVXe— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) August 12, 2024 Aljaž is back on the show after a two-year break – he is the husband of Janette Manrara and won the competition in 2013 with Abbey Clancey. Amy Dowden has also made a triumphant return after being cleared of cancer. Two dancers missing from the line-up are Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima. Both former professionals have left the show following allegations of abusive behavior and bullying from former partners. The BBC has an ongoing investigation looking back at training footage. Who are the Strictly 2024 presenters and judges? Once again, Tess Daley and Claudia Winkelman are returning to host the main show. Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke are all back on the judging panel. Janette Manrara and Fleur East will return to host the It Takes Two spin-off show, which interviews pairings and goes behind the scenes into the production, costumes and training for the competition. It’s not been confirmed if the official Strictly podcast will return, which has previously been presented by Joe Sugg and Kim Winston, who give more insights and gossip into the competition for audio listeners.  Who won Strictly Come Dancing 2023? EastEnders’ Bobby Brazier and Bad Education actor Layton Williams put up a good fight for the glitterball trophy. But in the end, Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach won the title with her partner Vito Coppola. They scored a maximum 40 points for their American Smooth routine. However, they had a major error with the final lift in their showdance. Nonetheless, it did not stop the 22-year-old from claiming victory in the youngest-ever final of the show. How to watch Strictly Come Dancing from abroad As always, Strictly will be shown on BBC One. You can watch on your TV as the episode airs, or on BBC iPlayer on most internet-connected devices, whether that’s a laptop, tablet or phone, or perhaps a media streamer or games console. You’ll also be able to watch it on BBC iPlayer if you missed the episode and want to catch up. If you’re outside of the UK, there are ways to watch BBC iPlayer abroad such as using a VPN (virtual private network) like NordVPN. Find out more about how to do that here...