Paul Hollywood Says Mel & Sue And Mary Berry ‘Abandoned’ ‘The Great British Bake Off’, But Has Forgiven Prue Leith For *That* Blunder

'I became the most hated man in the country.'

It sounds like Paul Hollywood is still smarting after the ‘Great British Bake Off’ faithful said he had betrayed the show by staying with it when it moved to its new home on Channel 4.

In a new interview, the baker has accused his former colleagues Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins and Mary Berry of “abandoning” the show after it was poached from the BBC earlier this year.

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Paul Hollywood
Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment

He told Radio Times: “I stayed with Bake Off. The girls abandoned it. But I was the one put under siege. I became the most hated man in the country.

“It’s not fun for someone that doesn’t like being in the limelight. I didn’t set out to be on the telly,  I set out to be a good baker. And I didn’t want this. If you give me a cheque, you’ll never see me again.”

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Paul with his former 'Bake Off' colleagues, Mel Giedroyc, Mary Berry and Sue Perkins.
Karwai Tang via Getty Images

The first series of ‘Bake Off’ on Channel 4 was a huge hit, with almost nine million of us tuning  in to see Sophie Faldo bake her way to victory.

However, many viewers knew who had won ahead of the final when new judge Prue Leith accidentally tweeted the result twelve hours early - something Paul admits cost the show viewers.

“I think we could have had much more [viewers], he says.

Asked if he has forgiven his fellow judge, he added: “Yes, I do. Everyone makes a mistake. It was a shame though.”

It seems Paul is more annoyed with the faithful ‘Bake Off’ viewers, many of whom refuse to watch the show on Channel 4.

“There are people who can’t get past channel one, the older generation, who don’t understand how that works,” he says.

“They only flick a couple of buttons and it takes three clicks to watch Channel 4.”

Read the full interview with Paul in the new issue of Radio Times, out now. www.radiotimes.com.

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Radio TImes