It seemed the BBC had struck on a winning formula with The Great British Bake Off. The show’s ratings proved that it was tapping into something that was in vogue the length and breadth of the country. Baking was now back in fashion and viewers – young and old, male and female – were all tuning in on a weekly basis to see what the competitors would dream up to help keep their place in the show for another week and edge closer towards that all-important final. Producers, BBC channel chiefs and, of course, viewers couldn’t have been happier with what they were watching on their screens every week. It was the televisual equivalent of comfort food – inoffensive and warm viewing, fit for all the family.
But undoubtedly, the competition and how well the contestants were doing were not the only reasons why viewers were eagerly tuning in, week after week. Regardless of the impressive and creative baking being undertaken on screen, and the competitiveness between the contestants, one other very special ingredient was proving to be a significant factor why the show was such a success. It was the special bond between Paul and his co-judge Mary Berry that was propelling Bake Off to new heights in terms of its popularity. Viewers and TV critics alike lapped up the unlikely pairing’s on-screen chemistry, which was plain for all to see. On paper it should never have worked: the rough and ready Northerner who had learnt his trade as a master baker working in bakeries in and around the Wirral versus the prim and proper doyenne of baking from another generation whose celebrity was cemented by her book sales in the millions and incredibly diverse range of products with an annual turnover of more than a million pounds. But for some reason it did work. Britain, it seemed, couldn’t get enough of this dynamic duo.
As one astute critic in the Guardian noted: ‘The success of their Bake Off pairing relies in part on these complementary differences: he the straight-talking Liverpudlian and she the kindly, rosy-cheeked grandmother we’d all like to have.’ But something about the rapport between the two had everyone in Britain transfixed. Somehow the relationship – against all the odds – just worked. And television critics went out of their way to heap praise on the newly crowned King and Queen of Baking. In fact, the Guardian newspaper boldly declared ‘Berry and Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off are the greatest judging duo in the history of reality television – it’s their brutally honest diagnostic that crowns them.’ The piece continued to shower praise on the pairing, saying: ‘Make no mistake, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are The Great British Bake Off’s secret weapons. They’re astoundingly good at what they do. They share a joyous enthusiasm for baking but, equally, their scorn can be unknowably ferocious.’
Other critics were quick to voice their opinions on the pair’s dynamic, with Elizabeth Day from the Observer concurring. Writing about the partnership that has intrigued viewers up and down the country, she said: ‘They make an unlikely double act and yet something about the two of them together just works. Watching them argue playfully on screen or in person is both entertaining and somehow reassuring, like eating hot buttered toast in a perfectly heated bubble bath.’ And Judith Woods in the Daily Telegraph also picked up on the fact that Paul and Mary’s on-screen relationship shouldn’t have worked but it does, magnificently. She wrote: ‘Hollywood shot to fame on The Great British Bake Off, alongside 77-year-old Mary Berry, a peculiar pairing that somehow, against all probability – rather like the almond and Roquefort loaf he sells for 15 quid a throw at Harrods – just worked. Beautifully.’
High praise indeed, especially when one considers that striking the perfect dynamic in TV judging partnerships is hard to get right. It’s a formula that TV producers have constantly tried to work out over the years – with mixed fortunes. It’s fair to say some TV talent shows have succeeded or failed on the basis of whether or not the combination of personalities on the judging panel has gelled. Ratings can skyrocket or plummet based on this. And luckily, in Paul and Mary’s case, their contrasting personalities appeared to have worked a treat. As was often the case in TV judging partnerships, opposites appeared to attract. Despite coming from very different backgrounds and their lives having taken very different directions, their careers had converged and it seemed they were kindred spirits.
While many will find it hard to believe that the two had previously worked together before The Great British Bake Off, the reality was different. Paul first met his fellow judge eight years before being reunited by independent TV production company Love Productions during screen tests and casting calls for BBC2. Back then they were both working on the Good Food Channel, originally launched on 5 November 2001 as UK Food – a channel dedicated to cookery programmes previously broadcast on the increasingly crowded UK Style channel. The channel uses a large amount of programming from the BBC’s archive. It resembles a former international channel run by BBC Worldwide called BBC Food, as both use similar content and have a similar format. The channel changed its name on 8 March 2004 to UKTV Food.
As part of the rebranding of all UKTV’s channels to a unique name and identity, UKTV Food rebranded as Good Food on 22 June 2009, the last of UKTV’s brands to do so. The name is based on that of the Good Food cookery magazine, published by BBC Magazines. The channel and the magazine continue to operate separately. When Paul and Mary first worked together, they were on a show called Great Food Live. It was a simple format, which ran through easy-to-prepare recipes that viewers could simultaneously follow with the live show at home in their own kitchens. Although neither of them stayed on Great Food Live beyond that series, they got on well right from the start.
‘I was really glad it was her and she was really glad it was me,’ Paul told the Liverpool Echo. ‘I look after Mary. I make sure she’s always got a comfy seat and it’s not too chilly. I think of her like my mum and I want to make sure she’s looked after. I think it’s a Scouse thing. We’re like a big Bake Off family. Mel [Giedroyc], Sue [Perkins] and I are like the naughty kids and Mary is our mum. She keeps us all in line.’ For all the banter that the pair may have enjoyed on screen, as well as the various little scraps that they might have had over the judging process, it was clear from what Paul was saying that he had a deep-rooted respect for his on-screen judging colleague, who was fast becoming a close friend.
But certainly, while they may have been like a family on screen, their backgrounds and approach to judging were completely different. And as each episode was filmed, they appeared to embrace their ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine – with Mary decidedly playing the good cop. Meanwhile, Paul came from the school of judging attended by the likes of Len Goodman in the BBC’s hit show Strictly Come Dancing or the X Factor’s Simon Cowell. He only judged the finished product and never minced his words. His blunt and to the point one-liners included: ‘It just feels a little bit stodgy, which I wasn’t expecting.’ Meanwhile, compassionate Mary was always measured in her criticism. The worst you might hear would be: ‘I’m really disappointed’ or ‘I don’t like this at all’.
Journalist Sarah Stephens from the Daily Telegraph was invited onto the set of The Great British Bake Off. She observed the judging process with much scrutiny and picked up on Paul and Mary’s rather unique relationship and different methods of critiquing the contestants’ various offerings: ‘The judging itself is fascinating to watch. During a technical bake (the round in which contestants have no prior knowledge of the recipes) the finished products are lined up on a table anonymously, while the bakers themselves sit on stools facing away from the bakes. It looks contrived, but it ensures no one can influence the judges. Meanwhile, Berry and Hollywood make their way along the table, commenting and tasting as they go. “This is over-baked,” Hollywood complains. “Structure’s all wrong.” “Pastry’s lovely on this one,” Berry says, breaking through with her fork. Decisions are swift and definite.’
But for all that the pair’s on-screen chemistry would cement the show’s reputation, Mary admits they haven’t always seen eye to eye. For one thing, she was adamant about refusing to be combative towards the contestants. She left that to Paul and wouldn’t be drawn into it – it just wasn’t her style. ‘I wouldn’t have taken part if I had been expected to make nasty comments,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘The combative style of most TV competitions puts me right off. I don’t see any reason to shout or swear or be hyped up. I want to encourage the contestants to bake, and people at home to think that they can make it too. It’s not just entertainment, it’s a giant cookery lesson.’
On top of that, the judging duo would often spend hours deliberating over who stayed and who went from the show. On one occasion, it took them five hours to work out who would be cut prior to a semi-final in the first series. And their personal approaches to bakery meant they often clashed.
‘Mary’s angle is home baking, mine is professional, so we meet in the middle but with all the same passion and drive,’ Paul told the Daily Mail. Although he admitted he’d learnt a lot from his fellow judge – specifically to use Stork margarine, which Mary had come to know after working for the brand during one of her first jobs in catering PR at a London-based firm called Bensons. ‘I always used butter in my cakes before, but Mary said I should use a mixture of butter and Stork – you get the flavour from butter but the Stork sustains the crumb, making it lighter,’ he added. Mary herself was quite forthright about the differences between their approaches to the judging process. ‘Paul makes brilliant bread, and I’ve learnt from him, but I don’t agree with him on lots of things,’ she said in another interview. ‘Paul takes a more professional line: every biscuit must be identical. It’s not like that in real life; we’re amateur bakers, and if there’s one that’s a bit of a wobbly shape or overcooked – not all ovens cook evenly – well, Mum has that one.’
It seemed their infectious line of banter – and the fact that they didn’t always see eye to eye – spilt out into the many joint interviews they gave to the press during the time that the Bake Off was on air. In one interview with the Guardian, it was clear that they were enjoying poking fun at each other. ‘He is difficult,’ said Mary – with the interviewer noting that the way in which she said this was ‘fondly, as if talking about a mischievous child’. Mary continued: ‘But we respect each other. I would never argue with him over a loaf of something because he knows the science of it, how they’ve achieved it and everything.’ Quick to put his take on their relationship across, Paul retorted: ‘I’ll argue with Mary over every cake she makes,’ to which Mary ‘rolled her eyes’ before admitting that he was argumentative, saying: ‘Oh yes, he’ll argue with me.’
In another interview, their tit-for-tat conversations have also been played out. ‘I think baking’s far easier than cooking, and because of that it’s more approachable,’ Paul said, to which Mary was quick to reply: ‘Rubbish! Honestly.’ Not one to be deterred, Paul continued with his line of argument. ‘Making a cake is one of the easiest things in the world,’ he went on. Mary, the journalist wrote, shook her head vociferously and responded: ‘He’s very grumpy, isn’t he? No, I don’t agree with that. I think baking is very rewarding and if you follow a good recipe, you will get success.’
On screen, their very different judging styles are plain to see. In one meringue week on The Great British Bake Off, for example, Mary was not impressed with baker Danny’s Monte Bianco, the dessert of sweetened chestnut purée topped with whipped cream. ‘I am a little sad that I have not got crispness from it,’ she said.
But while she may well have taken the softly, softly approach, Paul was much more direct. ‘It just feels a little bit stodgy, which I wasn’t expecting,’ he said. He also told another contestant, Stuart, that his Chocka Blocka Mocha Meringue was something ‘you could wedge a door open with’, and ‘even James failed to impress with his slightly barf-acious fig, chestnut, cherry and chocolate confection,’ according to the Daily Mail. The newspaper noted Paul’s immediate reaction, saying: ‘Cue glittering ice-blue stare from Hollywood – apparently inherited from his maternal grandfather – and a look of baking doom.’ He then continued with the judging, delivering his verdict. ‘I don’t like it,’ he said, bluntly. ‘Oh, you are brutal this week,’ Mary told him.
But overall what made their judging partnership such a success was the fact that, despite their differing approaches, they could always find common ground. Fundamentally they knew that they both abided by certain baking principles and this meant they could be cohesive when they needed to be. ‘But basically we think alike – we want to achieve the very best baking,’ Mary said in another interview with the Guardian. ‘It’s got to be the right texture, the right flavour, it’s got to look good, to tempt, the crumb’s got to be right – everything’s got to be right. And they [the contestants] also have to follow what they’ve been asked to do. But within that, they’ve got to be creative and individual.’
The truth is that a genuine friendship had formed between the two judges and they were getting on famously. Despite obviously enjoying teasing each other remorselessly when it came to their different approaches in the kitchen, the special bond between them was obvious. When the cameras stopped rolling, they would regularly socialise outside of working hours. No doubt the fact that both had been propelled to a new level of fame so quickly and so suddenly would have drawn them into an even closer friendship. Despite gracing the screen and bookshelves for years before, it’s easy to imagine that the pair might have found their new status as a reality TV power couple slightly daunting, if wonderfully enjoyable. But nevertheless, having been on the Bake Off journey together from the very start, each would have doubtless been a great source of comfort and support to the other as they got to grips with the show’s runaway success.
In fact, they became so close that Paul would often stay at Mary’s pied-à-terre near Windsor whenever he came to London and needed somewhere to crash for the night. It’s a sign that their partnership is ‘absolutely genuine’, as Paul said in one interview. ‘Even more so off-camera than on. Mary is like a surrogate aunt. I often stay at her house when we’re filming and she makes me breakfast and looks after me. We’ve reached the stage now where we can communicate with just a look.’ And if ever there was a mark of closeness, it was the fact that Mary had entrusted Paul with the keys to one of her properties. In return for the favour, Paul regularly gives Mary lifts to and from the set wherever they might be filming The Great British Bake Off – so much so that he even joked that it was actually his full-time job. ‘I’m not really a baker, I’m Mary Berry’s personal chauffeur,’ he quipped in an interview with the Daily Mail. The journeys – which would often be halfway across the country – would doubtless give the pair ample time to catch up on the busy goings-on in their own lives, as well as allowing them to discuss what they would be filming that day. And the fact that Paul would often go out of his way to help Mary out with a lift shows just how highly he thought of her.
And even when the pair were not shooting Bake Off they would be sure to keep in regular contact. For example, when Paul went solo and started filming his own series, Paul Hollywood’s Bread, in 2013 he made sure that he still found time to enjoy catch-ups with Mary over the phone. ‘I like Mary so much,’ he would tell the Sunday Mirror, with genuine affection. ‘She is a national treasure and we do stay in contact when we aren’t filming Bake Off. I often stay at her house and we speak a lot on the phone.’ It was clear that this wasn’t just a judging partnership that worked on screen, but one that permeated into the real world too.
Perhaps a true mark of their closeness is the very fact that Paul developed a nickname for Mary which he started to use when referring to her both on the show itself and while talking about her in press interviews: Bezza – a somewhat plebeian moniker, the irony of which would not be lost on Mary, who would regularly laugh it off. But once again, the fact that he would often, quite casually, refer to Mary as such proves how deep his affection for his co-judge really was. Over the following months and years as they continued to judge The Great British Bake Off, Paul would regularly refer to Mary using the nickname and often posted photos of them together on the social networking site Twitter, captioning them with phrases like ‘Bezza and I’.
Making no attempt to hide his affection for the woman who he says is ‘like my mother’, Paul said in one interview: ‘I always wore shirts and during the last series even had a jacket on a few times. But once I wore a polo shirt and Mary said she didn’t like it, so that was it; I’ve never worn one since. Mary likes me in a dinner jacket when we go to awards ceremonies. She reminds me of the Queen. There’s something regal about Mary when she hooks her arm through mine to walk down a red carpet.’
There was one other moment in Paul and Mary’s friendship that also made newspaper headlines. It was a moment that demonstrated both the judging duo’s closeness and their – at times – polar opposite opinions on certain matters. After filming an episode of The Great British Bake Off, Paul decided he had a craving for something unhealthy; a little bit of junk to satisfy his appetite after a doubtlessly long day judging bakes and having to be on top form in front of the cameras. He told the Radio Times that he developed a hankering for salt after filming the episode and sampling the contestants’ sugary creations. ‘I crave salt,’ he admitted. ‘We recently filmed our Christmas special and on the way back to our hotel I pulled into a drive-in McDonald’s with Bezza – that’s my pet name for Mary Berry. I’d been eating cakes all day and had a big craving. “Big Mac, large fries, what do you want, Bezza?” She wasn’t impressed!’
In another interview he gave a somewhat different version of events. ‘I took Mary to a drive-thru McDonald’s yesterday,’ he said. ‘Yeah, she loved it. Big Mac, large fries, six chicken nuggets, barbecue sauce, strawberry milkshake, a Dunkin’ Donut…’ he continued, obviously poking fun at Mary. She was quick to retort that she ‘had nothing’, before Paul interrupted and joked: ‘And then she went back for an apple pie.’ Indeed, Mary has always professed to being dedicated to healthy eating and exercise – she insists on eating only a light salad as an evening meal on days when she has been tasting cakes, and she enjoys regular tennis sessions with friends – so it’s unlikely that she would have relished the idea of a McDonald’s with as much gusto as Paul.
Their relationship, both on and off screen, isn’t entirely uncommon. British TV has seen a number of judging duos whose successful rapport has kept viewers and critics alike hooked. On the X Factor, pop mogul Simon Cowell steered the singing talent show to an all-time ratings high thanks to his closeness with Cheryl Cole, who had replaced long-standing judge Sharon Osbourne when she left after four series in 2007. Their banter-driven relationship, coupled with the fact that the former Girls Aloud singer refused to take Simon’s harsher criticism of the contestants lying down, meant that things often got fiery on screen – something that producers would have doubtless been salivating over. On top of this, there were also suggestions that Cowell was enamoured with Cheryl, despite being some two decades older than her – and denials to the contrary – but the often-flirtatious nature of their relationship meant that they became an object of fascination with viewers and tabloid journalists alike, always on the hunt for a new story.
Simon underlined the closeness of his relationship with Cheryl in a 2010 interview with the News of the World. At the time there was much speculation that there were divisions between himself and Cheryl and the two other judges on the panel – Australian popstar Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie, and Irish boyband manager Louis Walsh. With no hesitation Simon admitted this was the case, going so far as to admit that the divide was due to his closeness with Cheryl. ‘There are definitely two divisions,’ he conceded. ‘You’ve got Louis and Dannii, who look like they’ve been sucking on lemons. And then there’s me and Cheryl trying to have a good time.’ It seemed that he and his Newcastle-born protégée were just too close for the other judges to get a look in. ‘Look, it’s no secret me and Cheryl are best buddies. That is what Louis is angry about. Maybe I’m spending too much time talking to Cheryl and ignoring everyone else. It does get a bit like that some days because we’re close. When I’m sitting next to her I forget everyone else. What happens is that the two on the other side of the table want to play as well. Well no, they can’t!’
On other shows similar relationships have formed – such as the BBC’s previous cooking hit, MasterChef. The series was presented by American-British gastronome Loyd Grossman for years before being refreshed when Gregg Wallace and John Torode were brought in to take over the reins. The pair had known each other for some 20 years; Wallace was a greengrocer by trade who first met Australian Torode in the 90s when he sold fruit and veg to Torode’s exclusive restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield. They had kept in touch but had never worked with each other in TV, despite both making regular appearances on various shows.
But that all changed when the Beeb decided it was time to overhaul the MasterChef format and give the series the ‘reality TV show’ treatment, making it a lot more competitive and far less middle-class in its sensibilities. Their judging partnership helped to reinvigorate the show, taking it to record ratings. But unlike Mary/Paul and Simon/Cheryl, the MasterChef pair made no bones about the fact that they didn’t have much of a relationship outside of the studio. It seemed that, although they spend nearly 60 per cent of the year together, as soon as the knives and forks are put down on the MasterChef set, the two go their separate ways. In interviews, they have admitted that they never catch up after work, or have even been to each other’s houses. ‘I have never been invited. Look, we go to work, we do a job, then we part company,’ John said on Alan Carr’s Chatty Man series on Channel 4. ‘Usually Gregg disappears without saying goodbye but we do spend about 200 days a year together. That’s enough. I like him but…’ And Gregg agreed: ‘You just can’t keep that going in your private lives as well. We do share each other’s problems. Well, I tell John mine.’
Obviously for the MasterChef duo, it worked much better to keep work and private lives separate. The pair also admit their differing opinions meant that they would often clash while on the set. ‘Spending 200 days a year filming together, we got a lot closer, but any relationship where you spend that much time together inevitably gets strained. We used to fight about stuff, as we’re both so opinionated,’ John told the Independent. ‘In the first series it was over [eventual winner] Thomasina Miers, as Gregg had said, “There’s no way I want her.” Then in the second round he said, “I want her.” And I said, “You git, how can you hate someone vehemently one day then like them?”’ Meanwhile, Gregg admitted that even when they’re not in the kitchen the pair are by no means similar. ‘John is aware I’m slightly OCD,’ he also told the Independent. ‘In the dressing room I must have everything in place. He leaves his clothes everywhere.’
It seems, then, almost impossible for all well-known and successful judging partnerships to work like clockwork all of the time. But so far, Paul and Mary had managed to make it work for them, both on and off screen. Soon, however, there would be something that would test their relationship – as it would see them spending lots of time apart for months on end. For a new opportunity would present itself to Paul, allowing him to take his baking skills to a very different audience in a completely different part of the world. He would be offered the chance to work in the US – but this time without Mary. So, was Britain’s best-loved judging duo about to be split up for good?