Luis Troyano, a fan favorite who advanced to the finals on Season 5 of Great British Bake Off, has died of esophageal cancer.
He was 48 years old.
“We are deeply saddened to hear that Luis Troyano has passed away,” the show’s official Twitter page announced on Tuesday, November 3, adding:
“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.”
The Bake It Great author was a runner-up on his season of this beloved reality competition, which began in the United Kingdom and later came to the United States, getting renamed The Great British Baking Show in the process.
It has climbed to great heights of popularity amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Television viewers these days that are looking for a calming program, which features a bunch of nice people baking delicious-looking goods, can’t get enough of the series.
They are mourning Troyano’s passing across social media today.
Troyano’s manager, Anne Kibel, confirmed this said piece of news on Monday, saying her client passed away last week after a battle with the aforementioned disease:
“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,” she tweeted Tuesday.
“Always in our thoughts.”
Paul Hollywood, the veteran judge on The Great British Baking Show, also paid tribute to Troyano on Instagram.
“So sad to hear the news about Luis,” he wrote, adding of the late reality star:
“He was a fantastic baker and will be missed by all in the Bake Off team.. my thoughts are with his family #ripluis #gbbo #series5finalist.”
Similarly, many other Baking Show alums — such as Candice Brown, Rahul Mandal and Jamie Finn — mourned Troyano on their social media pages.
“Oh my goodness this is just heartbreaking. Luis was a complete gent and we had some great giggles at festivals,” Brown, who won season 7, said on Instagram.
“Send love and strength to his friends and family.”
Fellow season 5 finalist Richard Burr shared a picture of the pair at the Reality Television Awards while honoring his late friend.
“I feel lucky to have had such good mates to marvel at the craziness of short-term fame and long-term friendship,” he captioned the image. “I will miss you Luis.”
Chetna Makan, who also went up against the former graphic designer, shared a photo of Troyano playing guitar in the kitchen after his passing.
“Hope you get to play the best music and bake the most precise cakes up there!” she wrote alongside of it.
Kibel, meanwhile, uploaded a link to a Just Giving fundraiser page in Troyano’s memory to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Troyano’s season of The Great British Baking Show is now streaming on Netflix.
We send our condolences to his friends, family members and loved ones.
May Luis Troyano rest in peace.