GBBO judge Paul Hollywood accidentally gives away show's secret in launch episode

The son of a baker, Paul Hollywood, originally trained as a sculptor until his father persuaded him to change careers. By combining his love of sculpting and baking, Paul has established himself as an innovator in the cooking world.

What is Paul Hollywood famous for?

Paul is a Master Baker and has worked in some of the most exclusive hotels in the world including the Dorchester in London, reports Metro.

He cemented his reputation as the leading authority on bread making by publishing the best-selling book 100 Great Breads which has been translated into seven languages and was named the 'Top Bread and Pastry Book' of 2005. In 2008 he created the most expensive bread in Britain that was sold for £15 a loaf at Harrods, which Paul describes as the ‘Rolls-Royce of loaves'. On top of that, Paul is probably best known as a judge on Great Britain Bake Off, having held the position since 2010 when the show first aired.

Paul let slip Bake Off's secret

According to the Mirror, the judge has recently let the cat out of the bag about the show’s beginning when he discusses the new group of bakers.

Janusz, who is bringing his ‘cartoon-like, colourful and camp’ baking style to GBBO, climbed to the top of the charts on the Channel 4 series' 2022 premiere after being named Star Baker with his excellent performance of Signature and Showstopper bakes.

Sadly, Will, who was a former charity administrator, was the game's first casualty, as he was dismissed from the GBBO tent.

Before the third match of Cake Week began, Paul was seen discussing the candidates' progress with fellow judge Prue Leith and hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas.

Paul showed his honor to and praised cardiovascular research colleague Syabira, who won the Technical challenge with her exquisite red velvet cake, saying:

‘Her technical challenge was better than mine.’

The moment Prue laughed brightly, Matt continued to make a joke cheerfully: ‘I mean, it’s not that hard to believe, is it?’

‘When’s the last time you baked Paul, in the 70s?’, the host Noel made a question. Then the bread specialist answered: ‘Last week’.

He added that he opted to prepare some blueberry muffins, which he thought were so terrific that he gave himself one of his legendary Paul Hollywood handshakes.

Because Paul stated that the last time he cooked was 'last week', it means that the red velvet cake, which was provided as an example for the bakers to aim for in the Technical challenge, would not have been prepared by him.

Despite this, he later shared the steps on how to make the cake on Twitter, stating with the link:

‘I know lots of you love to give the technical challenge recipes a try and I reckon this will be a popular one! Hope you enjoy it. Happy baking!’

When the bakers were in the middle of their Showstopper challenge, many spectators were taken aback by a particular detail from Syabira's cake, as she claimed that the enormous white cylindrical form she was crafting was intended to be a 'coconut tree.'

Meanwhile, Matt moved to Twitter to respond to a troll who criticized the varied lineup of bakers, advising them to ‘take a day off.’

Read more:

⋙ Dame Mary Berry: The real reason why the food writer left Great British Bake Off

⋙ Bake Off fans in awe as Matt Lucas reveals epic weight loss after diet overhaul

⋙ Fans surprised at Bake Off star Ruby Tandoh's appearance after public row with judge

⋙ Bake Off’s Amanda Georgiou reveals how much bakers spend on the show