A beloved reality TV star from across the pond who brought joy to so many viewers has passed away.

Luis Troyano, a runner-up on the 5th season of The Great British Bake Off filmed back in 2014, died late last week. First confirmed by his publicist, and later mourned publicly by other contestants on the popular British reality TV show, the beloved baker was just 48 years old at the time of his death.

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News of Troyano’s passing first came from Anne Kibel, a PR rep who worked with the popular Brit after his rise to fame on the show, including on a book deal and other baking projects. She shared the heartbreaking news on Tuesday morning, writing to the world (below):

“Sadly, my lovely client lost his brave fight against esophageal cancer last week. 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.”

After Kibel’s announcement, GBBO Series Five winner Richard Burr followed up with his own sad statement about his friendly rival on the show.

Burr, who closely bested Luis’ baking talents in the minds of the judges that season, tweeted his own condolences for the larger-than-life personality:

“I am so sad to have lost Luis. He was a man who took a double helping of everything life had to offer. Fearless, friendly and cheerfully grumpy. I will miss him.”

Popular show host Paul Hollywood shared his condolences later on Tuesday morning, as well:

“So sad to hear the news about Luis .. he was a fantastic baker and will be missed by all in Bake Off team . . . my thoughts are with his family.”

And the show itself also released a note about Luis’ passing, adding their own statement to the sad news of the day:

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

Ugh. Just terrible and tragic.

After his successful run on reality TV, Troyano wrote Bake It Great, sharing his love of baking through hundreds of recipes for his newfound fans and followers from around the world. As viewers of the show know, it’s unique people like Luis that make GBBO such a special, stand-alone part of the otherwise-cluttered and un-original cooking competition format.

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Our hearts go out to Luis’ family, friends, loved ones, as well as all those touched by his presence as a baker, both on the popular competition show and beyond. He will be missed.

Rest in peace, Luis…

[Image via YouTube]

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