Like the Cleopatra of cake, new Great British Bake Off judge Nigella Lawson reclines on a chaise longue throughout our interview, gently fanning herself. Fellow judge Paul Hollywood chuckles from a nearby armchair. After Prue Leith stepped down from soggy bottom-spotting duties in January – on the unarguable basis that “I’m 86, for goodness sake!” – there was widespread jubilation when Lawson was announced as her replacement.
The arrival of the domestic goddess has created serious buzz around Bake Off’s upcoming series. A contest that was at risk of growing stale has become essential viewing again, thanks to the velvet-voiced, spatula-licking doyenne of culinary TV. I’ve always been a big fan and she fitted in beautifully – not just with me but with the whole team.
She picked up the Bake Off vibe straight away. It was pretty seamless, actually.” Her TV career was launched with Nigella Bites way back in 1999. Why Bake Off, and why now?
I was keen to be part of something bigger, part of a team. When I was approached about Bake Off, I instinctively thought: ‘That would be lovely.’ It almost feels too good to be true that you can enjoy something this much and call it work.” Predictably, there have been tabloid rumours that the judgely duo have been butting heads. Lawson allegedly said that Hollywood arriving on set at Welford Park in a helicopter was “cringe”, which is all the evidence gossipmongers need.
Yet there’s no sign of tension on screen, let alone today. Their conversation is full of good-natured ribbing and punctuated by peals of laughter. Hollywood seems enchanted by his new partner-in-cake, while Lawson is endearingly self-effacing, all too aware that she’s joining a long-running hit and simply doesn’t want to “stuff it up”.
Before her appointment was confirmed, the pair had an unofficial chemistry test at a Channel 4 event. It surprised even us, I think, how well we hit it off. It was lucky that we did get on.
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