 |
| Gabe Capes Now: Where Is The Great British Baking Show Contestant Today? |
Gabe Capes has clearly done far more since The Great British Baking Show Season 17 than simply leaving a good impression with the judges. The Birmingham-based artist, costume designer and drag performer has continued building a creative career that moves comfortably between baking, fashion, performance and visual art. While his appearance on the Netflix baking competition introduced him to a wider audience, it was hardly the beginning of his creative life. These days, Gabe is still designing, performing, creating eye-catching looks and finding plenty of reasons to put the oven on.
During his time on The Great British Baking Show, Gabe brought a distinctly creative approach to the tent. He already had years of experience expressing himself through art, so the pressure of turning flour, butter and sugar into something presentable was another challenge rather than a completely foreign world.
His first technical challenge produced a cake that earned him third place, with the flavours doing much of the heavy lifting. When the showstopper arrived, he used the opportunity to make something that felt genuinely personal rather than simply ticking boxes for the judges.
Gabe also appeared willing to listen when the judges offered criticism, which perhaps matters more in baking than pretending every cake that emerges from an oven is a masterpiece. His time on the programme showed someone still developing his skills, and that willingness to experiment has remained a noticeable part of his work since leaving the competition.
Away from baking, Gabe Capes has built a career as an artist, costume designer and drag performer. After graduating from Birmingham City University, he eventually found himself looking for something more creatively fulfilling. Rather than settling into work that left him feeling drained, he moved towards a career where costumes, makeup, performance and design could all occupy the same rather colourful playground.
By day, Gabe works with costume and visual design, while his drag career has given him another outlet for performance. He performs as Blü Romantic, a stage name that ties neatly into his affection for the colour blue. He has also become known as the “Daddy of Birmingham Drag”, proving that apparently there is room for both baking terminology and drag titles in one CV.
His creative work extends well beyond the stage. Gabe has experimented with different makeup styles, aesthetics and costume ideas, building a visual identity that feels much broader than his television appearance. In October 2020, he joined forces with two other creatives to form The Westend Wendys, a drag group celebrating theatre. The project added another performance-focused strand to an already busy creative career.
In June 2021, Gabe appeared in the dance short film Anywhere Is A Dancefloor, followed by an appearance at the Palaver Party at Aston Hall. A year later, he collaborated with You Betta Merch, giving supporters the chance to buy merchandise featuring his work and image, including T-shirts and tote bags. It was another sign that his creative career was becoming something that could exist across several different formats rather than being tied to one stage.
Gabe's performing career continued gathering pace. In April 2023, he worked with designer Nick Blackham and Bullring around the International Gay Rugby Union Cup, combining his eye for design with a major event setting. By July, he was performing at Latitude Festival, bringing his drag work to an even larger festival audience.
September 2023 saw Gabe involved with OKLAHOMO, a show by Send In The Clowns. His performance work continued into 2025, including an appearance at Slaughterhaus Bristol in February. Just two months later, he joined fellow drag artists and Fatt Projects for another performance connected with Send In The Clowns. If anything, his post-baking-show career appears to have become busier rather than quieter.
Social media has naturally become another part of that creative operation. Gabe Capes currently uses Instagram as a showcase for his makeup, designs, performances and other projects, with more than 9.3K followers. His account gives people a glimpse into the visual side of his work without requiring him to explain every creative decision with a lengthy speech. Sometimes the makeup does the talking.
His latest projects show that he has no intention of standing still. In September 2026, Gabe took part in Queeny Todd, using his Instagram presence to share details about the event, including the venue, ticket information and ways people could support the production. It is another example of how his online presence works alongside his performance career rather than simply functioning as a collection of old photographs.
Baking, meanwhile, remains part of Gabe's creative world. He started baking when he was 13, long before stepping into the television tent, and the hobby has continued alongside his work in art and performance.
These days, he enjoys experimenting with different culinary techniques and has a particular fondness for savoury bakes filled with meat. Frankly, after years of elaborate sweet creations on baking television, there is something rather sensible about being interested in a pie that actually knows what it wants to be.
Gabe's life away from performances is considerably more domestic. Originally from Grimsby, he later moved to the West Midlands, where he now lives with his partners, Tyler and Ellis, and their two dogs, Dill and Sage. His downtime seems to involve the sort of activities that sound wonderfully ordinary after a life full of costumes, festivals and stage lights: cooking, gardening, walking the dogs and spending time with friends.
He also enjoys hosting dinner parties, which seems particularly appropriate for someone whose interests include both baking and entertaining. Gabe takes pride in making his home feel visually appealing, drawing on the same artistic instincts that shape his professional work. He enjoys arranging and decorating his surroundings, while gardening gives him another creative project that comes with considerably less pressure than performing in front of a crowd.
His friends remain an important part of his life too. In August 2026, Gabe attended Wilderness Festival at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire with friends, enjoying the festival atmosphere away from his own performances. It is a useful reminder that his life is not simply a permanent sequence of stage appearances, makeup sessions and baking experiments.
There is also something quite refreshing about Gabe keeping parts of his private life private. In an age when reality television contestants can feel obliged to document every coffee, commute and mildly interesting sandwich, he has allowed his professional work to do much of the talking. What is visible is enough to show that Gabe Capes has built a creative career on his own terms, rather than relying solely on the recognition that came from The Great British Baking Show.
The more interesting part of Gabe's story is what happened after television stopped being the centre of attention. His baking appearance could easily have become the main footnote attached to his name, but instead it sits alongside a much wider creative career. He has moved between costume design, drag, makeup, film, theatre, festivals and digital content without appearing particularly interested in choosing just one lane.
There is a slightly amusing contradiction there: a baking contestant who seems to have spent much of his post-show life doing everything except standing still in a kitchen. His career also suggests that television exposure does not have to dictate what comes next. Gabe has used the attention as one part of a larger creative identity, while his performances and design work remain the real focus. Even his love of savoury baking feels perfectly on brand — practical, playful and a little unconventional.
So, where is Gabe Capes now? He is still firmly in the creative world, working across costume design, drag performance, makeup, art, events and social media while continuing to bake when the mood strikes. His Instagram following has grown, his performance calendar remains active and his latest 2026 appearance in Queeny Todd shows that he is still creating rather than looking backwards at his baking-show days.
Away from all that, there are dinners with friends, gardening, long walks with Dill and Sage and plenty of cooking at home with Tyler and Ellis. In other words, Gabe's story after The Great British Baking Show is less about what happened to a former contestant and more about how he kept building a life around creativity. Which part of Gabe's journey interests you most — his drag career, costume work, baking or life after the show?