The series debuted in 2011 as a spin-off from The Great British Bake Off and is also produced by Love Productions.

In the first four series, aired on CBBC from 2011 to 2016, the format featured 40 young bakers aged 9 to 12 years old divided into 10 qualifying rounds or heats.

The first series began on 31 October 2011 on CBBC with judges from the main show Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry.

A third series began airing on 2 November 2015 on CBBC, with Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes replacing Craze as hosts.

[13] Allegra McEvedy returns as judge with Nadiya Hussain replacing Graham Hornigold.

[14] Harry Hill presented the series which was judged by Prue Leith and Liam Charles.

The sixth series of Junior Bake Off began on 11 January 2021 on Channel 4[15] with Ravneet Gill replacing Prue Leith.

Comedian Harry Hill and bakers Liam Charles and Ravneet Gill returned as host and judges respectively.

The remaining four bakers from each group were combined in the week-long finals, culminating in a "super-difficult showdown" episode that determined the winner.