My pay for Bake Off has really risen, claims Hollywood

PAUL HOLLYWOOD has said the promise of a larger pay packet helped his decision to follow to Channel 4. Implying that his wages have doubled thanks to the move, which saw the show signed for £75million in a threeyear deal, he also said claims he earned up to £500,000 from his time on the BBC version were “just so, so wrong”.

He said: “If you could double your wages, by going across the road to a rival, would you?

“Do I deserve more money than I was on? I think everyone needs to get more money. Inflation has gone up. If I get more money that’s great news.”

The chef said he had never felt financially secure, adding: “I was brought up in a working class family. My father wasn’t particularly wealthy.”

Hollywood said he would miss fellow judge Mary Berry and hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, who decided not to stay on when the show left the BBC out of loyalty to the channel.

But he said he felt he had been unfairly blamed by fans for choosing to stay with the show.

He told the magazine: “It hurts me. It affects everyone all around me, my family. It seems so vindictive. I know why – ultimately, 15, 16, 17 million people love They couldn’t point the finger at the production company because there was no one individual they could point the finger at. I was the only one they could point the finger at. It was me. I was used as a scapegoat.”

He added: “I will always be a villain. I was sort of expecting it. But when it hit me, it was like an express train.

“I haven’t murdered anyone. But I think the Yorkshire Ripper got less press than I did.” He also said his love of the show was another motivation for refusing to quit, saying: “Who in their right mind would walk away from a job that you absolutely adore?

“I’ll miss the girls and I’ll miss Mary. They’re like my sisters and my mum, you know. I just didn’t want to leave the job because I love that job.”

He continued: “Mary and me spoke about Mel and Sue leaving and we understood their decision. Then we spoke about our decision.

“There was no coercion from Mary’s side or from my side and we both had a decision to make. We are both at different stages of our careers. I’m 50, Mary’s 80-odd. I didn’t see a reason for me to leave the show.”