Paul Hollywood, renowned as a judge on the much-beloved Great British Bake Off since its debut on BBC Two in 2010, has revealed his battle with a “severe” case of carpal tunnel syndrome, which has greatly impacted his baking career spanning over four decades.
The 58-year-old television personality and baker’s condition stems from years of manual labour in his craft after he began his journey at his family bakery at the tender age of 17, leaving his previous pursuit at Wallasey Art School.
Long-term kneading dough culminated in severe nerve damage in Paul’s wrists, leading to a carpal tunnel diagnosis about four years ago that threatened to strip away sensation in his hands entirely without medical intervention.
Recalling his experience during an interview on the Graham Norton show, the father-of-one admitted that the prospect of surgery terrified him, so much so that he lessened his baking activities, which has subsequently reduced the discomfort.
Speaking candidly on the BBC chat show, Paul disclosed: “I’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome in both my wrists, it’s severe. It was diagnosed about four years ago, I went to speak to a consultant about it and he said ‘Listen, you’re going to have to have an operation’,” reports Wales Online.
“I don’t actually bake as much hands on as I used to, I miss it. But now I’ve sort of stopped baking as much as I used to, it’s actually alleviated a lot of the pain.”
With carpal tunnel syndrome affecting approximately 5% of Brits, it brings pain and numbness due to the compression of the median nerve in the hands. Paul Hollywood’s story highlights the occupational hazard of a professional baker and sheds light on this common ailment.
Paul Hollywood revealed that his former ‘Bake Off’ colleague Mary Berry also experienced the same medical issue before she had surgery. “I did speak to Mary about it and she goes ‘Oh I had it done,” Paul shared.
He admitted his own fears about the procedure: “It’s healed quite nicely, it just petrified me the idea of slicing the band. Because I race cars at the moment, it’s really difficult. I’d rather not do it at the moment.”
In recent developments, Paul, alongside co-judge Prue Leith, named Chris Bisson as The Great Christmas Bake Off champion earlier this week.
The festive special of the Channel 4 baking competition featured a star-studded lineup including Natalie Cassidy from EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale’s Bisson, Dean Gaffney also from EastEnders, Sheree Murphy who has appeared in Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, and Shobna Gulati of Coronation Street fame, all vying for the holiday crown.
Paul commented on the tight contest, noting it was a “very close” call with fellow Emmerdale actor Murphy, but ultimately Bisson “got better and better”.