Great British Bake Off: Series six hopefuls revealed

This year's Great British Bake Off contestants include Dalai Lama photographer Ian (centre back) from Cambridge

The Dalai Lama's personal UK photographer is among 12 contestants hoping to be crowned master baker in this year's Great British Bake Off.

Ian, 41, from Cambridge, is a travel photographer and began baking six years ago so his children could have fresh bread to eat.

A former member of Buckingham Palace's Coldstream Guards, a fire fighter and a bodybuilder are also in the line up.

The show returns to BBC One on 5 August at 20:00 BST.

The first episode will begin with cake week, and the bakers' first signature challenge will be to make the perfect Madeira cake.

The technical challenge will see them tackle judge Mary Berry's frosted walnut cake - a light sponge sandwiched with buttercream and covered with sweet meringue.

The final showstopper task will be to reinvent the black forest gateau.

What's it like to audition for Bake Off?

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins return to host the show, along with judges Berry and Paul Hollywood.

Some 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Nancy Birtwhistle win last year's series.

Here's a closer look at this year's contestants:

Clockwise from top left: Ian, Nadiya, Alvin and Ugne

• Ian, 41, Cambridgeshire - a renowned travel photographer and the Dalai Lama's personal photographer when he is in the UK. Ian's passion for foraging and travelling the world mean he's never afraid to bake with an unusual discovery from his garden - or much further afield.

• Nadiya, 30, Leeds - has been baking for 10 years after wondering why her father only served ice cream for dessert at his restaurant. Her family is originally from Bangladesh, where desserts aren't a big feature of mealtimes, but she was encouraged to bake by a school home economics teacher.

• Alvin, 37, Berkshire - originally from the Philippines, he currently works as a nurse. Seven years ago, he questioned why he was buying bread and cakes when he had an oven and now he bakes at least four times a week.

• Ugne, 32, Essex - originally from Lithuania, Ugne is a bodybuilder whose hobby is baking. Ugne learnt to bake from her mother and grandmother, who passed on their Eastern European baking skills.

Clockwise from top left: Tamal, Marie, Mat and Sandy

• Tamal, 29, Manchester - a trainee anaesthetist working in Manchester, his older sister taught him to bake. She even asked him to create her wedding cake, since when he has regularly been commissioned to cater for family and friends' weddings.

• Marie, 66, Paris - entered into the competition by her daughter, Marie was inspired to bake after moving to Paris in her 30s and seeing all the French patisseries. Her children claim that when they were growing up, Marie's cooking skills were so poor she was unable to boil an egg.

• Mat, 37, London - began baking three years ago in between shifts as a London fire fighter. Mat calls himself a "competent amateur" who has mastered cakes, biscuits, bread, pastries and pies.

• Sandy, 49, Bradford - a child welfare officer, Sandy says she bakes to show her family, friends and colleagues that she cares about them. After work she also runs a cookery club where she teaches children from deprived backgrounds to bake on a budget.

Clockwise from top left: Flora, Stu, Dorret and Paul

• Flora, 19, Scotland - this year's youngest baker, Flora is working as an assistant at a contemporary art gallery before she begins her history of art degree. She comes from a big family of bakers and cannot remember a time before she baked.

• Stu, 35, Surrey - a professional musician who has toured the world as lead singer of his band, Stu started baking at a young age. He used to watch his parents in the restaurant kitchen they owned and was always amazed by the magic of the oven and "how something liquid could go in and out would come this fluffed-up awesomeness".

• Dorret, 53, Preston - works as an accountant and is a self-confessed foodie. Dorret and her husband regularly visit Michelin-starred restaurants to obtain inspiration and ideas for their next culinary experiment, and often host dinner parties to impress their friends with their skills.

• Paul, 49, Wales - has been a prison governor for eight years and before that, performed ceremonial duties at Buckingham Palace in the Coldstream Guards. He sees the show as "an opportunity to show that men like me, stereotyped by our jobs, do and can love baking and that it is a skill and talent to be proud of".