Nazi outfit was for ‘Allo ‘Allo fancy dress party, says Hollywood
The Bake Off judge says he is ‘absolutely devastated’ if the costume from 14 years ago caused any offence
PAUL HOLLYWOOD, the Great British Bake Off judge, has apologised for dressing up as a Nazi, saying that the outfit was supposed to be an ‘Allo ‘Allo! themed fancy dress costume.
A photo has emerged of the celebrity baker in a German army uniform with a red and black swastika armband on his sleeve in a pub in Kent.
Hollywood said he was “devastated” to have caused offence with the get-up. He explained the picture, obtained by The Sun, was taken when he and a group of friends were on their way to a party dressed as characters from the TV series ‘Allo ‘Allo!.
Another photograph from the same night shows friends of the 51-year-old Bake Off star – who was the only member of the show’s BBC line-up to make the switch to Channel 4 this year – dressed in French resistance costumes.
The grey uniform sported by Hollywood in the photograph matches the outfit worn by the fearsome General Von Klinkerhoffen in the programme, although his did not usually include the offensive swastika armband.
‘The was taken en route to a New Year’s Eve party where a group of us dressed up as characters from ‘Allo ‘Allo!’
Hollywood said the photographs were taken 14 years ago.
The television star, who has worked at the Dorchester and once baked the country’s most expensive loaf of bread, joined Bake Off in 2010.
His television career started in 2002, shortly before the photograph was taken. He went on to publish his bestselling book 100 Great Breads in 2005 – the year Prince Harry caused outrage by appearing in Nazi fancy dress in a Hallowe’en party.
As well as the swastika armband, Hollywood’s grey uniform is adorned with an eagle emblem which was the standard of the Third Reich, and a replica Iron Cross medal.
He is joined in the photograph by a friend whose dark green German army fancy dress includes the cross and eagle but does not include a swastika.
A second image shows Hollywood’s wife Alexandra at the pub’s bar with a female friend, wearing long strings of pearls, black berets and red neckerchiefs reminiscent of ‘Allo ‘Allo! waitress Yvette Carte-blanche, played by Vicki Michelle.
In a statement, Hollywood said: “I am absolutely devastated if this caused offence to anyone, the picture was taken 14 years ago en route to a comedy TV show themed New Year’s Eve Party and a group of us dressed up as characters from the classic TV show ‘Allo ‘Allo!. “Everyone who knows me, knows I am incredibly proud of the efforts of those, including my own grandfather, who fought against the Nazis during the war.” Hollywood’s grandfather was a Second World War veteran who fought in north Africa. As the baker discovered in front of cameras on the BBC’S genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are in 2015, his ancestor Norman Harman served as an anti-aircraft gunner with the 99th AA regiment Royal Artillery.
Harman was stationed in Tunisia, as well as in Italy and on the home front, between 1940 and 1945.
The landlord of the White Stag pub in Ramsgate, where the photographs were taken, told The Daily Telegraph: “I know nothing about it, this happened years ago.”
Online some social media commentators expressed outrage, with one replying to Hollywood’s statement on Twitter with: “Nazis have been offensive for the last 70 years or so.”