Alison Hammond has opened up about feeling “really upset” with Paul Hollywood while they were shooting The Great New Year’s Bake Off.
Hot on the heels of Emmerdale star Chris Bisson’s crowning victory in The Great Christmas Bake Off soap special, there’s been nary a chance for downtime for the team as gears shift toward the impending New Year’s iteration.
The Bake Off tent is being prepped to host a Hogmanay celebration, inviting back Scottish contestants from previous series, including Nicky, Peter, Lea, Kevin, James, and Norman. They’ll be creating delectable delights as an ode to Scotland.
Judges and presenters alike dove into the Scottish spirit donning theme-appropriate attire, and even a traditional ceilidh band joined the mix to ensure the party was nothing short of lively.
Yet, despite the festive spirit in the air, Alison couldn’t shake off her slight vexation with baking luminary Paul Hollywood over his wardrobe decisions, reports Birmingham Live.
Elaborating, she shared: “Oh, it was brilliant, it was so much fun. I’ll get up on my feet and start dancing. I’m straight in there.”
She continued: “Paul wore a kilt… and so did Prue. Well, she wore a tartan skirt… And Paul did wear his pants underneath. We were really upset!”
Additionally, she recalls: “Nicky from last series was back, which was really nice. They were my first Bake Off babies, so it was lovely seeing her again.”
As for the contest itself, it kicks off with a Signature challenge that puts a historic, potentially polarising dish under the spotlight, and for their Technical task, Paul and Prue set the bakers the mission of crafting a Scottish classic shortbread.
In the Showstopper, the bakers construct a cranachan creation in honour of the dessert that normally combines oats, whisky, honey, raspberries and cream.
Alison, who joined the Bake Off team in 2023, was left in hysterics during the show’s Christmas special, which saw EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy, Coronation Street and Emmerdale star Bisson, EastEnders’ Dean Gaffney, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks star Sheree Murphy and Coronation Street’s Shobna Gulati face off for the festive title.
During the episode, Cassidy, who played Sonia Fowler in EastEnders, revealed to presenter Alison that Dot Cotton actress June Brown had told her, “darling, it’s like pooing a melon”, when she was due to give birth in the show at the age of 15.
The This Morning presenter has recently been celebrating her 11-stone weight loss. She told Good Housekeeping magazine how she started seeing a personal trainer twice a week after finding out that she was pre-diabetic.
She said: “Just before she died, mum said to me ‘If you can, sort out your weight, Alison’ and that really set it in my head.
“My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening. I thought ‘I have to be an adult about this’. The sweets had to stop and the fatty foods. “.
The Great New Year’s Bake Off will air at 7.40pm on Channel 4 on Friday, January 3.