Paul Hollywood has revealed that his Great British Bake-Off co-star Prue Leith’s cheeky sense of humour often leaves him so “embarrassed” that he needs to step outside the show’s famous tent to regain his composure. “The problem is, it’s quite a tactile thing, bread-making or whatever, so certain shapes can look a bit rude on camera,” he admitted during a chat with Netflix.
Combine this with Prue’s playful banter and you’ve got a recipe for mayhem. He recalled one occasion where Prue’s double entendre about a beaver-shaped cake “left everyone in stitches.”
“She’s embarrassing. That’s what she is,” Paul declared.
He continued: “I mean, Prue will say it, and I’m sure she’s saying it deliberately. We were doing sausage rolls, and she said to a guy, ‘I don’t think your sausage is big enough,’ and I just stopped and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to leave for 10 minutes,’ so I walked out the tent.”
Paul also pointed out that due to the show’s enduring popularity, contestants have become acquainted with his and Prue’s preferences and have started tailoring their bakes accordingly.
“They know I like key lime pie, they know I like donuts, they know I like crème [pâtissière], they know I like toffee and caramels and all this stuff, so they’ll play on that and go for the flavours that I like, or Prue likes … So that’s bakers doing their homework, which is what I would do if I was in this.”, reports Wales Online.
Paul mentioned that had he been competing, his goal would have been to secure a “Hollywood Handshake” each week. However, he also noted the possibility of aiming for the rarer “Paul Pat”, which was awarded for the first time during Bread Week this season when Carmarthenshire’s own Georgie wowed with her Chelsea buns.
He explained that the “Paul Pat” is essentially a runner-up accolade for those who don’t quite make the handshake grade. Expanding on this, he said: “When I saw Dylan’s, then that was the benchmark that I was looking for. She was close. I knew, I glanced across, and I did see Dylan’s coming, and I was like, ‘Oh God, no, this is close but no biscuit.’ “.