John Robert Whaite (born 23 May 1989)[2] is an English baker who won the third series of The Great British Bake Off in 2012.
[5] As a teenager, following childhood mocking, he decided to change his surname from Cunningham to his mother's maiden name, and did so when he was at college.
[6] He won a place at Oxford to read Modern and Medieval Languages, but switched to study Law at the University of Manchester to be nearer to home.
He also completed a summer scheme with top law firm Eversheds Sutherland and worked briefly as a banker in the Royal Bank of Scotland's asset finance department.
After making it through to the final, he won the show with his Italian sausage and roasted vegetable pithivier, fondant fancies, and heaven and hell chiffon cake.
[13] In April 2016, Whaite began co-presenting Chopping Block, ITV's new daytime cookery competitive show with Rosemary Shrager where four couples compete in a series of daily challenges to win a prize.
[20][21] After appearing on Bake Off, Whaite studied for a Diplôme de Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, London.
[33] In May 2022 it was revealed Whaite was due to join the cast of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical Cinderella as Prince Charming; however, the production posted a closing notice before he could make his debut.