‘Great British Bake Off’s First American Contestant Disappears in Premiere — Will He Be Back?

In the span of one episode, The Great British Bake Off gained and lost a competitor hailed as the reality competition's first American contestant. Will Jeff — a Bronx-raised retired university lecturer now living in West Yorkshire, England — be back in future episodes?

In the Friday, September 27 premiere of Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off — available in the states on Netflix as the first episode of The Great British Baking Show Collection 12 — Jeff presented a loaf cake for the signature challenge, and then we was suddenly absent for the technical and showstopper challenges.

Cohost Alison Hammond told the other bakers that Jeff had to sit out for the technical and showstopper challenges after taking ill. But viewers haven't seen the last of him.

The good news for Jeff is that he will be back for the season's second episode, which comes out on Friday, October 4 on Netflix — Channel 4 has already confirmed his return, per Radio Times . Meanwhile, competitor John won Star Baker of the first episode, and in a surprise for the others, the judges opted not to send anyone home.

Jeff, 67, learned the basics of baking from his grandmother as a child, as Radio Times reported separately. He grew up in the Bronx, and he and his English wife — whom he met when she was hitchhiking across the United States — moved to the United Kingdom in 1979.

After the couple welcomed children, Jeff started baking in earnest, and in a nod to his Big Apple roots, he's said to make a mean New York cheesecake. When he's not in the kitchen, he enjoys playing basketball, swimming, going to the gym, and taking long walks in the countryside.