What To Know
- Reports suggest new judge Nigella Lawson and longtime judge Paul Hollywood are clashing.
- Lawson reportedly finds Hollywood’s travel arrangements “cringe.”
- Channel 4 has denied rumors of a feud.
Is there trouble in the tent? Was bringing in a new judge a recipe for disaster?
According to the Daily Mail, trouble is rising on The Great British Bake Off, or The Great British Baking Show as it is known on Netflix. New judge Nigella Lawson is reportedly clashing with Bake Off mainstay Paul Hollywood. The publication claims Lawson took issue with Hollywood’s travel arrangements, which reportedly include arriving by helicopter to Welford Park, where the series is filmed.
Hollywood makes the 120-mile commute from his home in Kent to the set in a £500,000 Robinson Raven helicopter. Lawson, who is the daughter of former British Chancellor of the Exchequer and journalist Nigel Lawson, was said to have found the helicopter commute a bit distasteful, according to anonymous sources close to the publication.
The outlet reports that a source on set said Nigella found the whole thing “all rather cringe” and described it as “ghastly.” In return, a source told the Daily Mail that Hollywood is “put out” by Nigella’s arrival.
“They aren’t really getting on too well,” the source claimed while the pair were filming new episodes ahead of the show’s September return. “‘Put it this way: imagine if you’re super-rich Nigella and you see your costar turning up in a helicopter, presumably to avoid the traffic and have a little bit of a show-off, you’re going to think it’s all a bit ghastly.”
Nigella Lawson joined Bake Off following Prue Leith‘s decision to step down after nine years as a judge. Her arrival also comes as the show looks to reverse a ratings decline, with the Daily Mail reporting that the most recent season lost around 500,000 viewers.
Channel 4/YouTube
“Paul rather liked having [previous co-star] Prue Leith there,” a source told the Daily Mail. “She was a stoic woman who has a terrific sense of humour.”
However, Channel 4 is now pushing back against reports of a frosty relationship between Hollywood and Nigella, insisting everything in the tent is peaches and cream.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Kiran Nataraja, Channel 4’s Director of Streaming & Content Strategy, dismissed the reported feud.
“We’re really excited to have [Nigella] on the show,” Nataraja said. “Contrary to ‘the Sidebar of Shame,’ her and Paul are not arguing about helicopters the whole time.”
The Great British Bake Off first hit screens in 2010, with Hollywood serving as a judge since the very beginning. He was originally joined by Dame Mary Berry, who remained with the competition through 2016, before Leith took over in 2017. Hollywood and Lawson are joined by Noel Fielding, who joined the show in 2017, and Alison Hammond, who made her way into the tent in 2023.
The Great British Baking Show, Season 17 Premiere, September 24, Netflix