"I was heartbroken to leave my Bake Off family."
On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Dr Yannis Ali became the fifth baker to depart The Great British Bake Off.
The week in which the 28-year-old left the competition saw the bakers tackle desserts.
The show is presented by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, while the judges are Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson.
For their signature bake, the contestants had to produce eight self-saucing puddings.
The challenge had a staggered start and finishing time which meant that the bakes had to be eaten and judged as soon as they exited the oven.
Yannis Ali started his signature bake last, and chose to make his puddings with apple strudel.
However, Yannis struggled in this challenge, with Nigella describing his puddings as “gummy”.
For the technical challenge, the bakers were required to choose their ingredients and make bread-and-butter pudding.
Yannis chose to make his pudding with hazelnut, chocolate, and cherry. He ultimately finished the challenge in seventh place.
The dessert week of The Great British Bake Off saw the bakers produce a challenging retro dessert trolley display.
The display had to contain individually portioned desserts, a baked element, and at least three different desserts.
Within his display, Yannis had sticky toffee puddings, black forest gateau, and queen of puddings.
His trolley was criticised for having cream that was sour, and his sticky toffee puddings were too dense.
These stumbles resulted in Yannis Ali departing the competition.
Speaking about his elimination, Paul Hollywood said: “Yannis struggled in his signature, techincal, and showstopper, which is very sad, because he is a very good baker.”
Opening up about his elimination, Yannis commented: “It was definitely bittersweet. I was heartbroken to leave my Bake Off family, but there was also a strange sense of relief.
“Filming incredibly long hours in a challenging tent while juggling my full-time job, often doing 12-hour shifts and nights was exhausting, so my body was definitely ready for a break.
“Everyone surrounded me with hugs and so much love, and then I flew to Spain for my best friend’s wedding the next week – which was probably the perfect way to soften the blow.”
Revealing his least-favourite challenge, Yannis Ali continued:
“The Technicals. I’m someone who likes to plan, practice and know exactly what I’m doing.”
“So being handed a mysterious recipe, sometimes with no recipe at all, or with half the instructions missing is basically my worst nightmare.
“I aged approximately five years during every Technical.”
The paediatric doctor added that his standout moment in the show was getting to hug Paul and Nigella.
The Great British Bake Off 2026 continues on Channel 4 on Tuesday, October 27, at 8 pm.
The seven remaining bakers will be testing their skills on pastry.
