The stars of The Great British Bake Off have paid tribute to finalist Luis Troyano following his death at the age of 48.

The baker, who competed on the show in 2014, died last week after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood led the tributes to Luis, who he called a “fantastic baker”.

Former host Sue Perkins, who presented the series that featured Luis on BBC One in 2014, described him as a “gentleman” on Twitter.

Many of Bake Off’s family of contestants also paid tribute, including former winners Candice Brown, Nadiya Hussain and John Whaite.

Candice, who won the seventh series of the baking competition described Luis as a “real gent”. 

“The bake off family will miss you Luis. A real gent and a pleasure to know. Sending so much love and strength to your friends and family,” she tweeted.

John, who was crowned champ in series three tweeted: “This is extremely sad. My thoughts and condolences to his loved ones.”

Luis’ wife Louise has set up a JustGiving page to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in his memory. 

Paying tribute to him, she said: “Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure, you are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.

“This page has been set up for Macmillan Cancer Support but in truth, Luis gave a big thank you to everyone involved in his care.”

Luis made it to the final of the fifth series of Bake Off alongside Richard Burr, but they both missed out on the crown to eventual winner Nancy Birtwhistle.

After appearing on the show, he released recipe book Bake It Great in 2015. According to his Twitter page, he also worked as a marketing manager for Salford City Council.

A spokesperson for The Great British Bake Off also said in a statement: “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.”