‘I was called every name under the sun’: Paul Hollywood admits he cried over the ‘horrendous’ backlash when Bake Off moved to Channel 4
Paul Hollywood has admitted he was left in tears at the backlash he received when The Great British Bake Off moved to Channel 4.
The cooking competition left BBC One in a £75million switchover in 2016, prompting fellow judge Mary Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins to quit the programme.
Paul, 56, was the only member of the team to move with the show to Channel 4 and at the time was branded a ‘snake’ by furious fans.
Emotional: Paul Hollywood has admitted he was left in tears at the backlash he received when The Great British Bake Off moved to Channel 4
Reflecting on the outrage, Paul told The Times: ‘Oh, I was called every name under the sun. It was so horrendous, I actually cried. No one wants to be painted as the pantomime villain, especially when I was just sticking with a job I loved. But you can’t kick against it.
‘David Walliams actually took me aside and said, “Mate, it’s just a game. Enjoy it.” You’re clickbait, basically. But it hurt me. After a while, though, I got tough. I just thought, “OK, I’ll be your bad guy”.’
Paul also spoke about the backlash in a recent chat with the Daily Mail, noting: ‘Mary will never be a villain. I will always be a villain.’
Originals: The cooking competition left BBC One in a £75million switchover in 2016, prompting fellow judge Mary Berry and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins to quit the programme
He added: ‘It was like losing part of the family, as me, Mel, Sue and Mary were all tight. But I didn’t have the same connection to the BBC as they did, maybe because I was northern and they didn’t know where to place me.
‘Even so, I was nervous, but Channel 4 were adamant about getting the right team, and they did – I remember Prue when she walked in, she was like a rainbow.’
The Great British Bake Off suffered a drop in ratings since moving to Channel 4 after seven series on BBC One.
The 2017 final attracted 10million viewers – almost six million lower than the number who watched the previous year’s final on BBC One, which drew in an audience of 15.9 million.
Paul Hollywood was the only original star to make the jump when the show switched channels.
Prue Leith took over Mary’s role as a judge, while Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig became the programme’s hosting team.
Sandi also left the show in 2020 and was replaced by Matt Lucas.
Line-up: Prue Leith took over Mary’s role, while Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig became the programme’s hosts. Sandi also left the show in 2020 and was replaced by Matt Lucas
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