Bake Off contestant got into baking 'in a very weird way'

Iain Ross is a former Coleraine Inst pupil

While other university students were marking the end of their final exam with a few pints, Iain Ross was baking his first loaf of bread.

Since then, the 29-year-old reckons he has "probably baked a thousand loaves of bread".

Things "just sort of spiralled" after he completed his software engineering degree and soon Iain was documenting his bakes for the masses, on Tiktok and Instagram.

Next week the baker, from Coleraine, County Londonderry, will feature in this year's The Great British Bake Off.

"The main word from my experience (on the show) is chaotic," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"I have a lot of plates spinning at a lot of times and if there's one thing about me it's that I'm not very good with multiple plates spinning, but I think it'll make for good viewing."

Iain Ross says the Bake Off contestants all helped each other out in the tent

By his own admission, Iain got into baking "in a very weird way".

The former amateur powerlifter, whose father was a decorated bodybuilder, did not start whisking, beating and icing until his early 20s.

At school, his school home economics class achievements peaked with a fruit skewer.

But his progression from basic loaves of bread to pies and patisserie goods has attracted millions of likes on social media and caught the attention of musicians.

Taylor Swift bread

Iain paints musicians' faces and album covers on his bread using edible food colouring and activated charcoal powders.

Famous faces to feature in his portfolio have included Paramore, Queen, SZA, and Taylor Swift.

The lead singer of heavy metal band System of a Down, Serj Tankian, was so impressed with Iain's painting of the band's album on a loaf of his bread that he messaged him online to say how much he loved it.

"It's a really fun hobby to have a clash of worlds," Iain said.

"I have my baking and my love of music so I try to marry the two together the best I can."

Bake Off

Buoyed by his growing social media audience and compliments on his bread-making, Iain decided to apply for Bake Off.

It took about four months from the first application until he set foot in the famous Bake Off tent.

It was there he met the fellow contestants and presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond.

Trying to avoid the dreaded "soggy bottom" and wow judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood proved to be "a lot of fun", Iain said.

Being on the show was a "very wholesome" experience, he added.

"I know it's a cliché when people say they've made really good friends but we actually have," he said.

"There's been really good vibes."

The programme will air on Channel 4 from September.