Latest Teesside headlines straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

For six years now, the Great British Bake Off has been a staple of our TV viewing as summer turns to autumn.

The Bake Off is incredibly popular and has made all things baking very fashionable.

Bakeries and cake shops have appeared on Teesside since the show started back in 2010, like the Chili Cake Deli, The Olde Young Tea House and Songbird Bakery.

13.58m of us tuned in to watch the series premiere this year, to see who would be joining Mary and Paul for ten weeks of competitive baking action.

And more than 15m watched Nadiya Hussain win the previous series last year.

But along with the massive viewing figures and overly twee atmosphere, it seems like there are lack of bakers from Teesside and the region in general.

Out of the seven series and more than 80 bakers, none of them are from the North-east.

Last week's eliminated baker, Michael Georgiou does study at Durham University, but is originally from London.

In fact, almost 10% of all the contestants are from London.

So why is it so hard for bakers from the North-east to get on the show? We got in touch with one Teessider who applied to be on the last series.

"I got through to the telephone interview last year, said Mike Oakley, 25, from Ingleby Barwick.

"They asked about baking techniques and methods, then on what you'd bring to the bake off tent."

Unfortunately, Mike didn't make it through to the next round, but he is hoping that someone from our area does make it on to a future series of the show.

"I'd quite like to see some proper local talent, Teessiders especially.

"I think baking in general around our area has had a strong resurgence you just need to look at the amount of new independent bakeries opening who do good quality, home made products.

"It'd be good to see someone champion local baking on a national stage."

Every region except the north east has been represented on the show, with the South and the South-east appearing more than anywhere else.

Yorkshire has also been well represented but no one has been from further north than Leeds; well over 65 miles from Teesside.

So what are the requirements to actually appear on the show?

These are just some of the criteria you needed to meet to get on to the current series of the show when applications were open last December:

Never have worked as a full-time baker, cook or chef

Not have an income that is mainly made up from commercial baking in a professional environment

Not have any catering NVQ or other qualification in baking, cooking, food production, food preparation or catering unless acquired over 10 years ago

And here is the basic process you'd go through if you actually managed to get onto the show:

The form

There are about four or five pages which list various technical questions about your bakes, so you will need to know your stuff.

You'll also need to be taking loads of pictures and setting up an Instagram page to show off your bakes.

The call

After the mammoth application form, you'll need to do a phone interview with one of the production team.

You'll once again be asked about your baking, hobbies, work life and then have to answer more technical questions.

The first audition

If the phone call goes well, then you will be invited to London. You'll need to bring some bakes from home which will be judged by the show's producer.

The second audition

Once called back, you will have to do a technical challenge in groups of 12 and will need to do it all in front of cameras for the first time.

After that

You'll have to wait a long time — about six weeks — before you hear whether you have got on the show or not.