Since 2014, this show is known in the US as "The Great British Baking Show". This is because in the US, "Bake-off" is a registered trademark owned by the Pillsbury company.
In September 2016, midway through the show's seventh series, it was announced that this series would be the last to air on the BBC. Apparently, a rival broadcaster, Channel 4, had "poached" the series. The day after the announcement, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins both announced that they were not in agreement with the move to Channel 4 and would be stepping down as the presenters.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Season 11 bakers, hosts, presenters, and all crew had to quarantine for two weeks prior to week 1. They remained sequestered together for the duration of their stays on the show. After the final, families were not allowed to be present for the announcement of the winner. Instead, everyone involved in the production of the season turned out for the party.
In season 8, Prue Leith, in her freshman year as a judge, made the error of tweeting the name of the season winner before the official announcement, namely the premiere broadcast of the finale. This error is played up in the season 9 opener.
Judge Paul Hollywood gives a handshake to any contestant he believes has done an exceptional job in a challenge. The "Paul Hollywood" handshake is one of the most coveted achievements on the show for any contestant, arguably tied for second with being named Star Baker, and only behind being named Bake-Off winner. The first handshake was given out in season 3. It was originally done only during the Signature challenge, until season 8 when he gave a handshake to two different contestants in the same Showstopper challenge. He even continued the tradition into season 11 when handshakes in general society began to wane with the onset of COVID-19 while other health/safety protocols were in place to prevent spread of the virus.