This 2025 Bake Off Contestant Is A Famous TikTok Star

Tuesday nights are about to get a whole lot cosier thanks to the return of The Great British Bake Off, the ultimate autumn show. It’s back on our screens for a 16th season from the start of September, and Channel 4 have got fans excited by releasing a trailer, as well as a first look at the contestants. Twelve hopefuls are primed to battle it out in the tent with the hopes of impressing judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. And it turns out one of them, 29-year-old Iain Ross, may be familiar to those on TikTok and Instagram, where the Irish baker has already amassed a large following under the moniker Thug Loaf.

Who Is Bake Off’s Iain Ross?

Iain Ross is a software engineer who lives in Belfast with his girlfriend Dervla and their cat, Viktor. He used to be an amateur powerlifter, but nowadays he’s more focused on making dough than lifting weights – and in recent years, he has soared to fame online for his music-themed bakes. 

Under the name @thug.loaf, Iain has acquired almost half a million followers on TikTok, and 240k followers on Instagram. He uses these platforms to share videos of his pastry art, which involves using food colouring to recreate famous album art and band logos on cakes, pies and loaves of bread.

The video with the most views (almost seven million) sees Iain creating a wrap inspired by the iconic Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody. A black wrap is painted with the four members of Queen, then filled with ingredients like halloumi, lettuce, hummus, tomatoes and onions. Other creations have seen Iain painting covers by the likes of Taylor Swift, Paramore and SZA.

@thug.loaf BOHEMIAN WRAPSODY 🌯 #queen #bohemianrhapsody #queenalbum #queenband #queenmusic #queenmemes #freddiemercury #wraprecipe #breadart #foodart #thugloaf ♬ Bohemian Rhapsody – Remastered 2011 – Queen

Iain gave some insight into his creative process during an interview with Mashed last year. ‘I started posting videos of me making bread on TikTok, using music that people didn’t normally expect from a baking account; a lot of underground music I was into at the time,’ he said. ‘I cut up a little stencil of one of my favourite artist’s logos and dusted flour over it on my dough to reveal the design. It all just snowballed from there.’

Creating the bakes is an intricate process which begins by printing an album cover on food-safe paper. ‘After it’s proofed and ready to bake, I’ll pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours to stop the dough proofing and create a solid canvas on the top of the dough to paint on,’ he explained. Once it’s reading for painting, he’ll trace the artwork using a stencil and edible food colouring. Usually, he uses a hybrid yeasted and sourdough recipe, as this works best for creating a smooth canvas.

But musical bakes aren’t the only string to Iain’s bow: the Bake Off contestant also enjoys experimenting with fermented fruits and vegetables, and bringing contemporary spins to classic recipes, according to Channel 4.

The contestants from Great British Bake Off season 16, Channel 4 / Love Productions

Who Are The Other Bake Off Contestants?

Iain’s competitors include Nadia, a 41-year-old hairdresser from Liverpool, who was inspired by her Italian chef dad. There’s also 38-year-old Aaron, who fuses French patisserie with Caribbean flair, and enjoys incorporating Asian flavors like miso and yuzu into his creations. The youngest contestant in this series is 23-year-old Jasmine, who was born in Edinburgh but is currently living in London while she completes her medical degree. 

The line-up also includes Pui Man, a 51-year-old bridal designer from Essex, who rediscovered her love for baking back in lockdown, and 29-year-old ‘country boy’ Toby, a business development executive from Sidmouth with a ‘stripped-back, healthy approach’ to baking. Hassan, a 30-year-old chemistry graduate from South Yorkshire, takes an analytical approach to baking, while 32-year-old service designer Jessika describes gifting bakes as her ‘love language’, and experiments with unusual flavours like Jerusalem artichoke caramel with dark chocolate mousse.

We also have 59-year-old Leighton from Swansea, who is guided by a mathematical approach and believes ‘everything can be done with a formula’, and hairdresser Lesley, also 59, who has been baking since the age of 10 and loves old-school bakes. Finally, there’s 31-year-old Londoner Tom, who recently reconnected with his love for food after stepping back from his advertising agency, and 32-year-old Nataliia, a Ukrainian office assistant who was taught to bake by her grandmother.

When Does The Great British Bake Off Season 16 Start?

The new series will air at 9pm on 2 September 2025 on Channel 4, with episodes continuing to stream every Tuesday.