'Great British Bake Off' 'Replaces' Mary Berry With Paul Hollywood On US Version

‘Great British Bake Off’ judge Paul Hollywood has been tipped to replace former co-star Mary Berry on the US version of the show.

Last year, Mary flew Stateside to appear on ‘The Great American Baking Show’, a Stateside twist on the show we know and love, where she served as a judge alongside pastry chef Johnny Luzzini.

The show wasn’t exactly a ratings smash, though, with The Sun claiming on Thursday (28 September) that Mary has been ditched for the second run, and replaced by Paul.

Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like she’s too bothered, with her spokesperson telling The Sun: “Mary would have loved to have joined Paul and Johnny for a guest appearance, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible due to her current filming commitments.”

Nicely handled, Mary.

This won’t be Paul’s first attempt at cracking the US, having previously appeared on the catchily-titled ‘The American Baking Competition’, which ran for one series in 2013.

However, neither ‘The Great American Baking Show’ nor ‘The American Baking Competition’ managed to live up to the huge success ‘Great British Bake Off’ has achieved here in the UK, with both shows pulling in a fraction of the viewers, despite the possibility of appealing to a much bigger audience.

An insider also told the newspaper: “This is a big deal for Paul and he’s hoping that it will finally help him crack America.

“He wanted to leave some time after his last try and he thinks it will be the right time to give it another go.

“There’s a great chemistry between him and Johnny, and having two male judges definitely works. The production team was sad to see Mary go but they’re excited to work with Paul.”

Meanwhile, the eighth series of ‘Great British Bake Off’ is currently airing on Channel 4, with Paul joined by Prue Leith, rather than Mary Berry, and new presenters Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding proving popular with viewers.