The iconic baking competition is back for a new series with Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith judging and Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond presenting
Paul Hollywood says this year’s series of Bake Off has been his toughest yet – because the contestants are so talented that he struggled when it came to sending anyone home.
The Bake Off judge – who has been with the show since it started in 2010 when it was broadcast on the BBC – reckons that the standard of contestants has improved massively since the show was launched.
The silver fox, who moved to Channel 4 with the popular show, said: “This is an exceptional year. I think the standard of the baking has been phenomenal. I was really shocked. It was unbelievable – proper borderline-professional from the off.
“I remember seeing the first signature and thinking, ‘Wow, this is going to be a nightmare to judge’ because obviously you’re going to lose a good baker every week. And because they’re all good, you don’t want that to happen.
“This year in particular was the hardest judging for people to go.”
And he admitted he had to make it more difficult to help him make decisions.
Paul said: “The challenges are a little more tricky. But they have all risen to the challenge and created things that have been really incredible.”
Paul judges the popular show, presented by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, alongside Prue Leith.
Prue replaced British baking icon, Dame Mary Berry, when the show moved to Channel 4 in 2017 but has recently opened up about some health struggles at the age of 85.
Earlier this year Prue made a heartfelt admission to the Loose Women panellists: “Age stinks. Come on, it takes me 10 minutes to get myself out of bed in the morning. If I don’t do my exercises I can’t move.”
The series continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
