Bake Off, Sunday Roasts and Christmas Hosting: Brits Are Getting Their Ovens Ready

With The Great British Bake Off back on our screens, Sunday roast season in full swing and Christmas just around the corner, it’s that time of year when our kitchens start getting a little more attention.

From attempting a bake Off-inspired showstopper to hosting friends for a Sunday roast or planning the all-important Christmas dinner, the coming months are filled with reasons to get cooking. But before the baking trays come out and the festive preparations begin, there’s one job many of us would rather put off: cleaning the oven.

Person wearing orange rubber gloves scrubbing an oven rack as part of kitchen cleaning preparations ahead of Christmas cooking.

And it seems Brits are already getting ahead of the task! New 2026 data from Airtasker, the local services marketplace, reveals that demand for oven cleaning has increased by 32% year-on-year, as households prepare for the busy autumn and winter months.

The latest figures also show that oven cleaning task postings have jumped by 58% compared with the same period last year, with a further 29% increase on the previous month.

It’s a familiar pattern, with demand for oven cleaning steadily building throughout autumn before typically peaking in November and December, just as Christmas preparations get underway.

In fact, some of the oven cleaning requests recently posted on Airtasker include:

Louise. B is offering £50 on the platform for someone to complete an oven cleaning task for her.

Mert. B has similarly posted a task requiring an oven clean for £51.

Whether you’re taking inspiration from this year’s Bake-Off contestants, perfecting your Sunday roast or getting ready to welcome family and friends over Christmas, the oven is likely to be working overtime in the coming months.

And while planning menus, stocking up on ingredients and deciding what to cook might be the more enjoyable parts of hosting, getting the kitchen ready is just as important.

Woman cleaning an oven while a young child sits on the kitchen worktop, highlighting household preparations for the festive cooking season.

In fact, research from Airtasker in 2025 revealed that almost half of Brits (46%) regularly avoid cleaning their oven, while nearly one in five (18%) admitted they had never cleaned it or couldn’t remember the last time they did.

And it’s not hard to understand why. Between stubborn grease, burnt-on food and those awkward corners that never seem to get clean, scrubbing the oven is hardly the most appealing way to spend a weekend.

So, whether you’re preparing for a season of Sunday lunches, festive baking or hosting Christmas dinner, getting the oven cleaned ahead of time could make the coming months that little bit easier!

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