The Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood plots spin-off show
The Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood would love to see an "international Bake Off challenge" spin-off to the Channel 4 show to see which country produces the best bakes.
Paul Hollywood has called for an "international Bake Off challenge" spin-off to The Great British Bake Off.
The 59-year-old celebrity chef has been a judge on the reality TV show since it began in 2010, and he thinks the idea for the spin-off would see which country is the best at creating some spectacular bakes.
Paul told The Sun newspaper's TV Biz column: "I think there should be an international Bake Off challenge.
"There are versions of the show all over the world, from France to America, Italy to Israel, Brazil to the Middle East. There should be an international one to see who is the best."
The star will be returning to judging duties alongside Dame Prue Leith, 85, when the new series of the Channel 4 show airs on Tuesday (02.09.25).
And he thinks Britain would be hard to beat in an "international Bake Off challenge" because of how high the standard on The Great British Bake Off has become.
Paul added: "I think Britain would challenge most of the others, that’s how good they are now.
"I think the standard of the baking has been phenomenal. It was unbelievable. Proper borderline professional from the off."
Prue joined Paul as a judge on The Great British Bake Off in March 2017, replacing Dame Mary Berry, 90, when the programme moved from the BBC to Channel 4.
And she recently revealed she skips breakfast and lunch while making each series of the programme so she can taste the baked treats made by the 12 contestants on the competitive cooking show without piling on the pounds
In an interview with the new issue of Bella magazine, the food expert said: "I don't eat breakfast or lunch, so I am generally OK."
Prue also calculates how many calories she has left after eating the cakes to make room for a glass or two of red wine at the end of a day's filming.
She added: "Then you can calculate how many calories you've eaten in the form of cake and work out, 'Oh, I have just got enough calories left to have a couple of glasses of wine.'"
Prue then quipped: "So basically, for about 10 weeks of the year, my diet is cake and red wine. And what is wrong with that!"
Elsewhere in the Bella interview, Prue's fellow judge Paul Hollywood, 59, said he has not put on any weight after eating the creations in this year's series - which begins on September 2.
He said: "I didn't put any weight on this year, which is good.
"I was a bit more careful, but I did take a couple of people's signature bakes for my lunch, I've done that a couple of times."
The Great British Bake Off host Alison Hammond - who has presented the show with comedian Noel Fielding, 52, since 2023 - put on "two kilos" after trying the bakes.
Alison, 52, said: "I'm a lot more disciplined now.
"I only put two kilos on this year, and I've already lost one kilo of it."
