Great British Bake Off back in January for charity special

Fans of the Great British Bake Off will have an extra serving of the hit show in January, as a host of celebrities prepare to don their aprons for a charity special.

16 celebrity contestants will join Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in the famous marquee for The

Great Sport Relief Bake Off. Sue Perkins will be hosting the four hour-long episodes with guest presenters Omid Djalili, Ed Byrne, and Jo Brand.

The line-up of stars taking part will be announced next month when the show will be screened by BBC2. Four celebrities will pit their skills against one another in each show, with one crowned Sport Relief Star Baker at the end of every episode. As in the regular series, they will be put to the test on the signature, technical, and showstopper bakes.

Paul Hollywood added: "We had a real laugh filming this Sport Relief special. There were a few disasters, some triumphs and even some tears but all the celebrity bakers got stuck in and seemed to enjoy the experience. I think what the series shows is that baking is really accessible and anyone can have a go."

Alongside the baking, the show will also follow Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams, who will visit a number of Comic Relief funded projects in South Africa to show how money raised by Sport Relief can help to change lives.The biennial Sport Relief weekend returns to TV on Friday, March 21.