When Does 'Great British Bake Off' 2016 Start? New Series Air Date Revealed

It’s one of the most anticipated shows of the year, and now it has been revealed when ‘The Great British Bake Off’ will be returning to our screens.

The new series is set to launch on 24 August, it has been confirmed.

However, die-hard fans of the baking competition will know that they’ve had a longer wait for the seventh series than usual, thanks to the BBC’s Olympics coverage.

‘Bake Off’ is launching just shy of three weeks later than it did in 2015, when it began at the beginning of August.

Bosses reportedly decided to delay the start date because they did not want ratings to be impacted by the games in Rio, as the show usually attracts audiences of up to 12 million.

A source told the paper: “The Olympics is a big deal for the Beeb and they are basically wiping their prime-time schedule to show all of the action.

“The ‘Bake Off’ is the one of the pinnacles of their year so they’re not going to waste it. The view is if it starts on ten million plus viewers, it’ll stay there all series.

“It just makes sense for it to start after the Olympic action has finished.”

Olympic diver Tom Daley recently admitted he’d love to take part on the show, telling Radio Times: “I’m a very keen baker. I’ve got the art of cheesecake down to a T. ‘Celebrity Bake Off’? Yep, that’s the dream.”

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