Bake Off returns!
GBBO judges Paul Hollywood, 55, and Prue Leith, 81, talk showstoppers, larks on set and glugging champers in their downtime…
“It’s the best year yet – just count the handshakes!”
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS YEAR’S BAKERS?
PRUE: It’s the usual mix – no one baker is like the other. As judges, Paul and I keep our distance in order to not be too chummy with them. However, inevitably, as they stay longer you do get to know them and they’re such interesting people – you want to be friends with them.
ARE THEY A TALENTED BUNCH? WILL WE SEE SOME AMAZING SHOWSTOPPERS? PAUL: The standard this year is the highest I’ve encountered. It’s incredible, and you’ll see that from the off.
PRUE: Just count the handshakes!
WERE THERE ANY BIG DISASTERS IN THE TENT?
PAUL: There was a bit of collapsing going on! PRUE: And the most over-flavoured bake I’ve ever had on Bake Off. It was unbelievable.
PAUL: Sometimes, the bakers panic and do something slightly unusual or mess it up.
PRUE: I prefer it when some of them are not so good – it’s much easier to judge if you have a few disasters! How do you judge 12 damn-near perfect bakes?
LIKE LAST YEAR, YOU WENT INTO A COVID-FREE BUBBLE, SO YOU COULD STILL TASTE THE BAKES AND DOLE OUT HANDSHAKES...
PAUL: There was more testing being done in the Bake Off bubble this year than ever before, because a lot of the crew – and myself – had to leave to get our jabs then come back on set again.
PRUE: It did seem stricter this year – but you’re grateful for that, because it does make you feel safe. I’ve had both my jabs, but I
live in the middle of the countryside with nobody around. I felt quite excited to come into London to do this interview, but I would rather be at home!
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A REAL LAUGH ON SET?
PRUE: It never stops!
PAUL: It’s relentless, and when Prue was made a Dame [she was awarded a damehood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June] we had a little party, and we changed the name on the door of her hut.
PRUE: Instead of just ‘Prue’, it said ‘Dame Prue’ – on a little wooden plaque. I took it home with me, after we had flowers, cake and a sing-a-long at three o’clock in the afternoon. It was like a child’s birthday – with alcohol!
ANY ANTICS THIS YEAR WITH BAKE OFF PRESENTERS MATT [LUCAS] AND NOEL [FIELDING]?
PAUL: We always have a laugh doing the intros. There’s always a giggle to be had and there was a lot of dressing up this year.
PRUE: Paul didn’t used to enjoy doing the links [when they lark about introducing each episode] but now he’s great at it. He’s a good actor and he can do accents.
DO YOU HANG OUT MUCH TOGETHER AT THE ESSEX HOTEL WHERE YOU FILM? PAUL: We do join for dinner on occasion, but Noel was running back to his room to read a bedtime story to his kids and Matt was working on a children’s book. The weather wasn’t as good as last year and so we did spend more time in our rooms.
PRUE: If you’ve been eating a lot of cake then sometimes you don’t feel like dinner, and if it’s tipping it down with rain you do tend to scarper off to your room. I preferred last year, just because I got a good suntan.
WHAT’S A PAUL AND PRUE DRINKING SESSION LIKE?
PAUL: Very expensive [laughs].
PRUE: If Paul has his way, he will buy a really good bottle of champagne for everybody else, and he’ll drink beer. He did that a lot.
DO YOU FEEL CLOSER NOW YOU’VE BUBBLED FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS?
PAUL: I feel like I know these guys much better than I did Mel [Giedroyc] and Sue [Perkins] – the original hosts of Bake Off – and Mary [Berry], the show’s former judge. If you can sit in the same room as someone for half an hour and feel quite comfortable with not saying anything then that’s a good friend, and that’s what I’m talking about. PRUE: It feels more like a family.
PAUL: Yeah, it does feel like a family – a really weird, dysfunctional one!
By Hannah Wright
● The Great British Bake Off returns Tue 21 Sept, 8pm, C4