Who is Daryl on ‘The Great British Baking Show’? Meet Tasha’s BSL Interpreter

By Meghan O'Keefe @megsokay
Published Sep. 29, 2023, 3:00 p.m. ET

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Tasha Stones

The Great British Baking Show is breaking barriers this season with its first ever deaf contestant. 27-year-old Tasha Stones is a former ski instructor and current participation officer who enjoys traveling and, obviously, baking. To make sure Tasha can compete alongside the rest of the bakers, the producers of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix have introduced Daryl, a British Sign Language Interpreter, to the tent. You can catch Daryl standing in the frame frequently throughout the first episode of The Great British Baking Show Collection 11 and he’s an extremely welcome addition to an already welcoming show.

The Great British Baking Show has always been stood apart from other reality competition shows when it came to inclusion. From the jump, we’ve watched people of all ages, ethnicities, sizes, sexual orientation, and classes compete in the tent. In 2018, Briony May Williams made it all the way to the Semi-Finals with nary a mention of the fact that she had a “little hand.” She later revealed to Disability Horizons that this was done at her request and that she had also turned down production’s offer to give her “extra help.”

“I asked them not to mention my disability because I wanted to be treated like everyone else. I wanted to show people that even with my ‘little hand,’ I could succeed,’ Williams said.

In 2021, baker Lizzie Acker struggled with what judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith called “finesse,” but eventually conquered the skill with a gorgeous “extraordinary” cake that celebrated her “SEN”s, aka Special Educational Needs. In her final episode on The Great British Baking Show, Ackier opened up about having dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, and concentration issues, once again showing how the Bake Off tent is a welcoming space to all.

Tasha might be the first deaf contestant, but she’s already proven resiliency, bouncing back after a disastrous Day 1 with an impeccable showstopper. And with the inclusion of Daryl, The Great British Baking Show is showing they are still committed to being the most fair and wholesome reality show out there. But who is Daryl? The BSL interpreter on The Great British Baking Show and what is BSL?

Who is Daryl? The BSL Interpreter on The Great British Baking Show Collection 11

Daryl is the British Sign Language Interpreter hanging out in the tent to help deaf baker Tasha Stones in the 2023 season of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. We’re not sure what his last name is, nor have we seen his personal accounts tagged on social media. However, we do know that Tasha is thankful to have him there.

Tasha Stone shared that, “[s]eeing Daryl up at the front and feeling fully part of the show was a really special moment. I couldn’t have done it without him and without the dedication from the show ensuring I had the same access as the other bakers.”

What else do we know about Daryl? Well, he doesn’t mind boogieing down with Tasha, her fellow bakers, and new host Alison Hammond.

What is BSL? Is British Sign Language Different from ASL, American Sign Language?

You might assume that because most Americans and most Brits speak English, that American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) would be basically the same thing. However, they are very, very different because they were developed completely independent from one another. That doesn’t mean some signs don’t overlap, but they tend to be simple, obvious concepts like “you” or “me” or “time.” The further you get from the basics, the more different the two languages become.

Modern BSL is a successor to the sign language developed by Scottish deaf educator Thomas Braidwood for his academies in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, while modern ASL is believed to have been adapted from French Sign Language (LSF) by the American School for the Deaf, founded in 1817. However, scholars note there were regional sign languages in use all over the States by this time which also influenced ASL, including a Creole and a Martha’s Vineyard sign language.

While both BSL and ASL were created over long periods of time and through the efforts of many people, they have arrived at two very different linguistic places. Besides grammar being different for both, there is a huge difference in how ASL and BSL spell their alphabets. ASL uses one hand for all 26 letters in the English language, which allows fingerspelling for proper nouns and other words. BSL uses both hands for their alphabet. Of course, this is an oversimplification of the differences, but the main takeaway is someone who understands ASL probably doesn’t understand BSL and vice versa.