Bake Off: The Professionals

Liam Charles and new-co-host Stacey Solomon present the return of the Channel 4 baking challenge with knobs on, as patisserie teams from establishments in Manchester, Cumbria, Wiltshire, Birmingham and London compete to be crowned the best in Britain. To kick things off, no-nonsense judges Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden set the pastry chefs a secret challenge to create 36 individual strawberry cakes and a chocolate sculpture, with no recipe to work from. For their showpiece, they are tasked to transform an ordinary treacle tart into a fine dining experience.

The teams take all their patisserie skill and spin it on its head by creating 24 savoury slices. They also need to execute razor-sharp precision as they make 24 layered crepe cakes. In the second challenge, the teams must make 160 choux buns to create a Greatest Sporting Moments-themed pièce montée - and they only have five hours to do so. If the teams can make it to the finish line under the watchful gaze of Benoit and Cherish, then they may be able to make it through to the next round.

Liam Charles and Stacey Solomon welcome back the best teams from last week for chocolate week. In their first challenge, the teams must make 24 chocolate cylindrical desserts and 24 desserts celebrating the honeybee. For the showpiece challenge, the teams construct dramatic chocolate showpieces along with 48 chocolate bars, which includes a moving part, inspired by the theme of ancient mythology, all in just five hours.

Liam Charles and Stacey Solomon welcome six new teams from around the UK, and set them the challenge of producing 36 perfect Mont Blancs alongside a chocolate amenity with no recipe to follow, as well as transforming an ordinary trifle into an incredible fine-dining experience with their showpiece.

The teams tackle a layered dessert in the form of mini celebration cakes and a patisserie classic - the Les Misérables, making 24 identical items of each pastry in three and a half hours. After that they create a grand pièce montée with two different flavours of choux buns, producing 80 of each on the theme of the greatest moment in history. Presented by Liam Charles and Stacy Solomon.

The pastry chefs face chocolate week, presenting 24 perfectly spherical chocolate desserts alongside another 24 celebrating the season of spring. for the showpiece they must create a piece inspired by the Tales of the High Seas, mythical pieces, 48 chocolate bars and a moving part. Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden judge their efforts, while Stacey Solomon and Liam Charles keep things going.

Stacey Solomon and Liam Charles bring together the best teams from both sets of heats, whose first challenge is to create 24 classic chaussons aux pomme (apple turnovers) and come up with a new baked creation for the judges. For their second challenge they have five hours to produce a striking sugar showpiece on the theme of A Garden Paradise, along with two types of desserts of their choosing.

Stacey Solomon and Liam Charles present the quarter-final, and to begin with the teams must create 24 illusion desserts, tricking the judges into thinking they are about to eat hot dogs. They must also make their version of a childhood favourite for Cherish Finden - the Singapore ice-cream sandwich - all in three and a half hours. The chefs then face a rollercoaster ride of a challenge as they create sugar and chocolate theme parks, which must also incorporate desserts.

Stacey Solomon and Liam Charles present the semi-final, and in a first for the patisserie contest, the teams must create a plated dessert for each of the judges. With no recipe and just the ingredients and equipment before them, they draw on their experience to produce something that will hopefully stop Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin in their tracks. For the second challenge, they must create an edible table scene inspired by the land of the dinosaurs, with a large macaron cake at its heart.

The search for the best patisserie team in Britain concludes, as Liam Charles and host Stacey Solomon welcome teams of pastry chefs hailing from establishments in Manchester, Cumbria, Wiltshire, Birmingham and London. As always, they face two days of testing challenges judged by world-class pâtissier experts Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden. It's the grand finale, and the remaining three teams pour all their patisserie passion, prowess and precision into this final epic challenge.