The TV chef Nigella Lawson denied rumours suggesting that she had been annoyed by the veteran baker flying to the iconic Great British Bake Off tent in his helicopter
Reports emerged of a “feud” between veteran judge Paul Hollywood and newcomer Nigella Lawson shortly after the latter’s arrival on The Great British Bake Off. There were rumours that the 66-year-old chef had been unimpressed by her fellow judge’s habit of arriving at the iconic Bake Off tent in his helicopter.
However, Nigella has rubbished the claims, telling BBC Radio 2’s Sarah Cox that the reports were completely without foundation. The stories of a rift between the two were “absolute nonsense,” Nigella said, before she added: “I don’t know where that came from.”
She explained that she had called Paul to reassure him that she hadn’t been saying “horrible things” about him behind his back and he immediately understood.
There is some playful teasing in their working relationship though, Nigella admitted: “The thing is, I certainly tease him, but he’s so wonderful to tease. He loves it.”
She told The Times that there would probably be as many rumours of an affair between the two as a feud: “What will people say of us on the programme? I feel that half will go, ‘Oh, there’s clearly something going on with them,’ and the other half will say, ‘Oh, clearly they don’t like each other at all.’ And I feel like that’s fine.”
She joked that Paul’s piercing blue eyed stare means that she should actually be “twinkled to death” while speaking to him. Speaking to The Guardian, she added: “He often acts bad cop and does that laser stare but he’s always himself, which encourages other people to be themselves, too. We complement each other.”
She said that Paul will sometimes pretend to “nod off” if she talks about food too much.
Before Nigella was actually offered the Bake Off job, producers organised a “chemistry test” between the two which fortunately went very well: “It was lucky that we did get on. Can you imagine if we didn’t? I bet Paul would have said so!”
Nigella revealed also that she had already made up nickname for Paul: “One of the many lovely things about Paul is that he’s good at being teased. I called him ‘Professor Precision’, then he teased me back and suddenly it all relaxed. He’s much more playful than he looks on camera.”
Paul, too, was complimentary about how Nigella was fitting in to the show’s line-up, telling Woman magazine: “Nigella has such a wonderful way with words; she’s very good at explaining to people watching it what it tastes like. She was brilliant. Nigella fitted in beautifully; it was lovely working with her.”
Dame Prue Leith, who had quit the show after nine years as a judge, said that Nigella had seemed a little “nervous,” but didn’t need any advice from her.
She said: “I didn’t have to give her any tips, but I did tell her to just enjoy it because she’s so good. She was quite nervous.
“She’s so well qualified and knows exactly what she’s doing, and the audience love her. I saw her and Paul last week, and they’re getting on well. She’s nice, I’m glad it’s her.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
