Mat

Mat Riley reached the Great British Bake Off tent in 2015 as a 37-year-old firefighter with the London Fire Brigade, serving out of the East Greenwich station and living in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, before relocating to London. A self-taught baker in the truest sense, he had only picked up the craft around three years earlier — baking for his watch between shifts — and often credited a batch of unexpectedly perfect macarons with giving him the confidence to apply. The skateboarding firefighter quickly became a viewer favourite, gathering an army of supporters under the #TeamMat banner.

His run through Series 6 was defined by ambition and a fondness for cocktail-inspired flavours. An early gin-spiked madeira and a later piña colada frangipane both drew the same affectionate verdict from Mary Berry — not quite enough booze coming through — which became a running joke of his time on the show. He hit his high point in Week 6, taking Star Baker, before his exit in Week 7 (Victorian Week), where a Charlotte Russe undid an otherwise strong three-challenge showing. Reaching the week before the semi-final was, by his own account, far further than he ever expected to go.

Since the show, Mat has built a steady profile as a celebrity baker while continuing in the fire service. He launched a baking YouTube channel, appeared at food festivals, ran pop-up evenings at the Old Fire Station in Tonbridge, and was chosen to bake a cake for a London Fire Brigade milestone — frequently pairing his baking platform with kitchen fire-safety messaging. He and

his wife Alex Beard, a former BBC South East Today presenter, welcomed their son Reuben around the time of the series. Series 6 was judged by Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (the BBC / Berry-era panel) and hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.