'Great British Bake Off': Channel 4 Denies Prue Leith And Paul Hollywood Tension Rumours

Channel 4 has been forced to speak out over rumours that things are rather frosty behind the scenes among the new ‘Great British Bake Off’ team.

While the original ‘Bake Off’ team were known for being tight-knit, The Sun has suggested that the new gang over on Channel 4’s incarnation are decidedly less close, particularly judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.

An insider told the newspaper: “The feeling backstage has totally changed with the new line-up. Prue has told staff she can’t stand Paul. Mary put up with him but Prue is much feistier.

“Paul, Prue, Sandi and Noel sit in their personal spaces backstage and don’t talk to each other. Sandi in particular spends most of the time knitting alone and refusing to mix with the others.”

However, a spokesperson for the show was quick to dismiss these claims, insisting: “The ‘Great British Bake Off’ team get on brilliantly and together have all the ingredients for a show-stopping series.”

This comes after Noel Fielding’s representative poured water on reports that things had got off to a shaky start between the ‘Mighty Boosh’ star and Paul Hollywood when they first began filming the forthcoming series.

Although an insider suggested there had been a few “tumbleweed moments” in the early days of production, Noel’s spokesperson later insisted they “get on great”, despite their differences.

It was confirmed earlier this year that Channel 4 would be extending episodes of the show by 15 minutes, as a way of accommodating adverts, one of the factors that ‘Bake Off’ fans were most irked by when it was announced the show was leaving the BBC.

‘Great British Bake Off’ is slated to debut on Channel 4 later this year.