Luis Troyano, a contestant on the hit U.K. reality series “The Great British Bake Off’” who was the runner-up in 2014, died last week following a battle with esophageal cancer. He was 48.
“Sadly, my lovely client lost his brave fight against Oesophageal cancer last week,” Troyano’s representative, Anne Kibel, said in a statement on Tuesday. “A fantastic man with a love of baking that saw him get to the finals of GBBO, write a wonderful book, Bake It Great and do so much more. Always in our thoughts.”
Troyano, who hailed from Poynton, Stockport, was a finalist in Season 5 of “The Great British Bake Off” alongside Richard Burr and Nancy Birtwhistle, with Birtwhistle winning the series.
“We are deeply saddened to hear that Luis Troyano has passed away,” the “Great British Bake Off” show account tweeted Tuesday. “It was a huge honour and pleasure to have him in the Bake Off Tent for Series Five. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his friends and family.”
Representatives for Channel 4, which airs U.K. episodes of “The Great British Bake Off” — a.k.a. “The Great British Baking Show” to U.S. viewers, where new episodes stream on Netflix — did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for further comment.
Troyano capitalized on his TV fame by publishing a cookbook, “Bake It Great,” in 2015 and opening his own bakery, The Hive, in his hometown of Poynton the following year.
We are deeply saddened to hear that Luis Troyano has passed away. It was a huge honour and pleasure to have him in the Bake Off Tent for Series Five. Our condolences and thoughts go out to his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/4gLiNBGaUL
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 3, 2020