Paul Hollywood has broken his silence on his decision to move with ‘The Great British Bake Off’ to its new home at Channel 4, saying Mary Berry gave him her blessing.
The baker, who is the only judge or presenter to be staying with the show in its new home, revealed that his friend and co-judge Mary had also said she would have gone with him, had she been younger.
Paul added that the extent of the abuse he had received from fans of the show on his decision to stay was as though he “had murdered somebody”.
He told the Good Food Show audience in London on Friday that the Channel 4 format would include “the same tent, the same crew and the same challenges”.
And he added: “I feel a huge sense of loyalty to the tent and crew.”
Paul will now be the chief judge on the show, and is reported to have secured a £1.2million pay-packet for a three-year contract.
No news yet on who will be presenting the show alongside him, following Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins’ decision to quit, saying they would not be “following the dough” and instead would remain with the BBC.
Mary Berry also announced she would be stepping down, and has already been given another BBC show, ‘Secrets from Britain’s Great Houses’, set for transmission next year.
‘The Great British Bake Off’ aired for the final time on the BBC a fortnight ago, with an estimated 16million viewing audience tuning in to see Candice Brown become the BBC’s last ever Great British Bake Off champion.
Everyone’s had their say on the move, with Jeremy Clarkson chipping in last week, saying, had he been in charge of the BBC, he would “have paid anything” to keep the show.