Tom Gilliford cooking up a storm on the BBC’s Bake Off show

Tom Gilliford

Tom Gilliford is set cook up a storm as he stars in Bake Off 2016 on BBC One.

Tom, 26, grew up in Rochdale but following university moved to London to pursue a career in education. He now works as a Project Engagement Manager for The Royal Society of Arts and specialises in creative learning and development.

He lives in East London with his wife, Kate and the pair like to make a real event out of meal time.

Having lost 30 kilos, his mentality to food is now “have your cake and eat it” - so he still enjoys his bakes but believes in everything in moderation. He is hands on in the kitchen and enjoys making his own cheese and salami. Tom isn’t shy when it comes to flavours and likes to surprise those he’s feeding with unexpected ingredients.

His parents Philip and Patricia run a peace group in Rochdale affiliated to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition. The couple have protested at anti-nuclear weapon events across the country.

Tom will appear on the TV screens tonight (Wednesday 24 August).