Paul Hollywood wants you to know he’s not a traitor for staying on “Bake Off”
Last year, the battle between the BBC and Channel 4 for the rights to The Great British Bake Off got very intense. After news of the sale of the show broke, three of the beloved stars, judge Mary Berry and hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, left the show. Only one headliner stayed behind to see what the new network would cook up, and now Paul Hollywood is asserting that he isn’t a traitor for remaining with the show.
To all GBBO fans: Let’s try to show some love. He made a career choice, and let’s be real — with all the rumored changes that might be coming to the show now that it’s on Channel 4, it might be nice to have him around to remind us all of the good ol’ days.
Though we’re sure the show will still be great.
Hollywood said in an interview on BBC’s Closer, “It has been hard because I was called a traitor over my decision to leave the BBC to go to Channel 4.” He added, “The other three left for whatever reason but I didn’t want to lose my job. The show found me and I didn’t want to turn my back on them.”
If anything, Hollywood wasn’t being a traitor, but remaining “loyal” to the fans and creators of the show for making him more of a household name. We can deal with that.
He added that it was super “hard” to film without the old hosts, but that the new crew was just as fun. Hollywood said, “I had tears rolling down my face because of how funny Noel [Fielding] and Sandi [Toksvig] are, so I wasn’t really that sad in the end.” That’s a good sign!
Meanwhile, everyone else seems to be getting along, too, so there’s no need to fan the rumor mill about who’s a traitor or not. Mel and Sue are hosting a new game show on the BBC this year. Meanwhile, although Mary never even considered a move to Channel 4, she understands Paul’s decision.
“I would always stand by him. Paul and I had our differences about what was important to us, but he is a brilliant bread-maker and I admired him a lot,” Berry said last year.
So don’t get your soggy bottoms in a bunch about the new season. Yes, it will be different. But maybe even better than before! One can always hope, right?
