Irish TV presenter joins line-up for celebrity version of popular baking programme

An Irish TV presenter has joined the line-up for the Great Celebrity Bake Off charity show. 

Bray's Laura Whitmore will participate in this year's Stand Up To Cancer show along with a crop of 19 other celebrities, including former Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly, singer Ellie Goulding, comedian Ed Gamble, and The Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison. 

Sir Mo Farah and Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse are among the other celebrities who have signed up for The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, with the show’s presenter Matt Lucas also showing off his baking skills. 

This year’s crop of 19 celebrities also includes comedian and creator of Taskmaster Alex Horne, TV presenter Emma Willis, singer-songwriter Example and choirmaster Gareth Malone.

Also hoping to impress with their baking skills in the Channel 4 programme are radio DJ Annie Mac, actor and author Ben Miller and TV and radio presenter Clara Amfo.

Writer and comedian Mawaan Rizwan, TV star Ruby Wax, TV presenter Sophie Morgan, Friday Night Dinner’s Tracy-Ann Oberman and musician Yung Filly complete the line-up. 

In each episode celebrities will battle it out over three rounds – the Signature, the Technical and the Showstopper challenge – in a bid to be crowned Star Baker and impress judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith.

The upcoming series will see the show’s Lucas switching from presenter to baker in an episode when he fills in for a missing baker.

He said: “I was forced to bake by my bosses at the last minute when one of the bakers became unavailable.

“I can’t tell you how happy I was that my humiliation was caught on camera.”

The programme, which also sees Noel Fielding hosting, is slated to air later this spring.

Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall and comedian Reece Shearsmith were among the stars who were crowned Star Baker last year in the charity series.

Stand Up To Cancer, launched in 2012, is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.