Who is Gabe on Bake Off 2026? The drag king behind Blü Romantic
Gabe Capes is a 32-year-old costume designer and drag king who performs as Blü Romantic. Here is everything we know about the Great British Bake Off 2026 baker, from his Drag Race UK work to the secret message hidden in his posts.
Among the twelve amateur bakers who stepped into the tent when The Great British Bake Off returned to Channel 4 on 22 September, Gabe brings a working life that already involves a good deal of glitter.
The 32-year-old from the West Midlands is a costume designer, theatre producer and drag king who performs on stage as Blü Romantic, and he uses he/they pronouns.
Gabe, whose full name is Gabe Capes, describes himself as the "daddy of Birmingham drag", and his costume design work has been seen on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
Alongside designing outfits and performing as Blü Romantic, he produces theatre shows, which means the tent is far from the first stage he has walked on, even if it is the first one where he has had to keep an eye on the oven.
Away from the spotlight, Gabe grew up in Grimsby and now lives in the West Midlands with his partners, Ellis and Tyler, and their two sausage dogs. Gabe casually discussed their polyamorous relationship—referring to their throuple as a "boy band" to Paul Hollywood.
His love of baking goes back to his teenage years, when watching the very first series of Bake Off inspired him to try it for himself, so a place in the show's 17th series is something of a full-circle moment. He is also a keen gardener and crafter and enjoys hosting dinner parties for friends.
In his own words, his bakes are "gorgeous but very homemade". He leans towards savoury bakes, particularly anything with a meat filling, and readily admits to an obsession with meringue, a combination that should give him plenty to draw on as the weeks go by.
Gabe also found a playful way of sharing his news long before Channel 4 revealed this year's line-up. From 10 March, the first letters of his posts on X quietly spelled out the message "I am on The Great British Bake Off", and he only let followers in on the trick once the bakers had been officially announced in September.
He is competing in a series that has brought changes of its own, with Nigella Lawson joining Paul Hollywood on the judging panel and Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond presenting.
Anyone keen to know more about the new judge can read our look at Nigella Lawson's career, books and influence on British food. Gabe has made it through the first three weeks, including the show's first Audience Choice Week, in which viewers picked the challenges and which ended with Shannon leaving the tent and Clara named Star Baker.
With the competition now well under way, Gabe will be hoping his eye for design and his flair for performance carry through into bakes that win over Paul and Nigella in the weeks ahead.
Go follow Gabe on Instagram @Bluromantic for all the updates, and more fabulous photos! Image credits: Bluromantic on Instagram.
The Great British Bake Off airs on Channel 4, with every episode available to stream on Channel 4's website and app.
Images: Channel 4.
