Great British Bake Off star Dawn Hollyoak has passed away.

The former IT manager- who was the sixth person to be eliminated from the 2022 series of the baking competition – died aged 61, her family have announced.

Posting on Dawn’s official Instagram page @thebakerdawn, with the caption accompanying a beaming snap of the late star, the family wrote: ‘It’s with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our star baker Dawn.

‘Not only a wonderfully talented baker but first and foremost an amazing mother, grandmother, wife and friend. Dawn passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. We will miss her forever, but promise to continue her baking legacy!’

Great British Bake Off star Dawn Hollyoak has passed away aged 61
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Great British Bake Off star Dawn Hollyoak has passed away aged 61

The former IT manager quickly became a TV favourite after joining the baking contest in 2022 - as her loved ones shared the tragic news on Saturday morning
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The former IT manager quickly became a TV favourite after joining the baking contest in 2022 – as her loved ones shared the tragic news on Saturday morning

It was announced on Dawn's official Instagram page @thebakerdawn with the caption accompanying a beaming snap of the late star


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It was announced on Dawn’s official Instagram page @thebakerdawn with the caption accompanying a beaming snap of the late star

MailOnline has contacted Dawn’s representatives on the cause of her death.

Plenty of TV stars and fellow bakers took to the comment section to pay tribute to the talented baker.

Show judge Paul Hollywood was one of the first ones to fondly remember the beloved baker.

‘I’m so sorry to hear that, send my love to the family a lovely lady x,’ he added.

Carole Edwards, who appeared on the same series of the competition and was eliminated the week before Dawn, also paid tribute to her beloved friend.

She wrote: ‘I will miss my friend terribly, a beautiful and talented lady inside and out, fly high my friend, life just won’t be the same without you.

‘Sending all my love to the family. Xx.’

‘This is devastating news… I only met Dawn once, but I was blown away by her joyous personality and her infectious smile. She will be sorely missed, but will live in the heart of those who loved her forever!’, Giuseppe Dell’Anno, 2021 Bake Off winner, commented.

Baking star Dawn addressed an illness and said she was feeling ‘a bit poorly’ in what became her last Instagram post before she passed away, shared ten months ago.


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Plenty of TV stars and fellow bakers took to Instagram, flooding the latest post with poignant comments as they paid Dawn a tribute
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Plenty of TV stars and fellow bakers took to Instagram, flooding the latest post with poignant comments as they paid Dawn a tribute


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The beloved baker from Bedfordshire earned judges' praises for her baking crafts, but was eventually eliminated during Halloween Week on episode 6
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The beloved baker from Bedfordshire earned judges’ praises for her baking crafts, but was eventually eliminated during Halloween Week on episode 6

She once again proved her astonishing talent sharing a very realistic lion-shaped cake prepared by her in her last Instagram post before she passed away
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She once again proved her astonishing talent sharing a very realistic lion-shaped cake prepared by her in her last Instagram post before she passed away

Baking star Dawn addressed an  illness and said she was feeling 'a bit poorly' in her final Intagram post from about ten months ago

Baking star Dawn addressed an  illness and said she was feeling ‘a bit poorly’ in her final Intagram post from about ten months ago

Her followers raved over the stunning creation and rushed to overwhelm Dawn with sweet comments
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Her followers raved over the stunning creation and rushed to overwhelm Dawn with sweet comments


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She once again proved her astonishing talent sharing a very realistic lion-shaped cake prepared by her, as she wished good luck to the England’s women football team Lionesses.

The TV star wrote: ‘I’ve been a bit poorly since my lovely holiday but couldn’t resist posting a cake from my archive.

‘Lion cake to wish our girls the very best of luck today. @lionesses #womensfootball #lionesses #itscake #hypertealistic.’

Her followers raved over the stunning creation and rushed to overwhelm Dawn with sweet comments with some saying:

‘I hope you’re on the mend Dawn ‘; ‘Dawn, That is absolutely stunning’;

‘My goodness, Dawn, your lion is incredible!! Just watched cake week again for your season on GBBS. Your cake was so elegant, beautiful. Gasp-worthy. ‘;

‘Awesome!!’; ‘You’re very talented, that’s awesome’; ‘Hope you feel better soon lovely’;

The 13th series of ‘Great British Bake Off’ was won by Syabira Yusoff, who was joined in the final by Abdul Rehman Sharif and Sandro Farmhouse.

Dawn was the sixth person to be eliminated from the 2022 series of the baking competition
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 Dawn was the sixth person to be eliminated from the 2022 series of the baking competition

The Great British Bake Off's 2022 lineup: (L-R) Carol, James Maisam, Sandro, Syabira, Maxy, Rebs, Dawn, Kevin, Abdul, William and Janusz
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The Great British Bake Off’s 2022 lineup: (L-R) Carol, James Maisam, Sandro, Syabira, Maxy, Rebs, Dawn, Kevin, Abdul, William and Janusz

The beloved baker from Bedfordshire earned the judges’ praises for her baking crafts, but was eventually eliminated during Halloween Week on episode 6.

Dawn prided herself on her steady hand and attention to detail, especially when it came to the intricacy required for lace patterns on biscuits.

Her favourite flavours when baking were lemon, salted caramel and anything nutty.