He’s been embroiled in a bitter split from girlfriend Summer Monteys-Fullam – and now insiders say Paul Hollywood is desperate to stop her from making it as a TV star
The GBBO judge, 53, and Summer, 24, reportedly split after he asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement and she refused.
A war of words then broke out between the pair, with Paul accusing Summer of “selling stories” and “courting paps” and Summer branding these comments “ridiculous”.
Reports then emerged that Summer was in talks with TV bosses about joining I’m A Celeb! – and insiders say Paul is now trying to find out if he can prevent that from happening.
A source says, “This is Paul’s worst nightmare. He’s trying to reach out to his TV contacts, even considering offering to take part in the shows instead of her as a compromise. He’s even wondering if his lawyers can help him take out a gagging order in case she does appear.”
Check out - Great British Bake Off: Everything you need to know
Great British Bake Off: Everything you need to know
1 of 171. Anyone can apply for Bake Off
Except professional bakers or chefs!Applications are open to any UK resident over the age of 16. However they cannot make their main source of income from commercial baking and entrants can't have worked as a professional chef or baker at any point. Plus, applicants cannot have acquired any professional catering qualifications in the last ten years
2 of 172. The GBBO application form is l-o-n-g
It's seven pages long, asks a LOT of questions, and demands you reveal the truth about your previous successes and failures in the kitchen.You can find it here.
3 of 173. The Great British Bake Off application process doesn’t stop there!
If they like what they see on your application form, a researcher will call you and give you a 45 minute interview over the phone.Then, if you pass THAT test, they'll have you whip up two baked treats, bring them to London, have an interview with a producer, and go through a screen test.Think you're done? Nope!You then have to try out a Technical Challenge set by the GBBO judges - in front of the camera. They also ask that you bring another bake along (presumably the producers are taste testing these / big fans of cake).If you're still in the running, you'll then be interviewed by the show's psychologist to make sure they can handle the pressure of filming.
4 of 174. GBBO filming is intense
The show is filmed over a 10-week period between April and June, with contestants spending up to 16 hours a day filming.They manage to package up a whole session of baking into one hour, which means that a lot of it ends up on the cutting room floor.
5 of 175... but at least it’s contained to weekends
That's right, contestants only do their GBBO stuff on weekends, which means that they can keep working their normal 9-to-5 jobs in the week.However they are picked up from their hotels at 9am each Saturday and Sunday morning, to ensure they get as much filming time in as possible.No rest for the wicked, eh?
6 of 176. GBBO contestants don’t do the washing up themselves
There's no dishwasher on Bake Off, because the noise would disrupt filming. Instead, home economists spend 160 hours washing up everything by hand. We hope they all get given a free hand lotion each…
7 of 177. GBBO contestants pay for ingredients themselves
Yup, that's right; they only get their ingredients provided when they reach the finals - which makes things pretty expensive. Particularly as they use between 12-20 ingredients per bake.
8 of 178. A lot of people are involved in the production of GBBO
There are around 50 crew members on set - and, yes, they all get to tuck into the cakes and goodies after the judges give their verdict.
9 of 179. GBBO contestants are encouraged to become friends
Producers take all contestants out for dinner together on the first night, and they usually become good pals over time; they often stay at the same hotel, so dinners and drinks and socialising become pretty regular.Which means that, yes, they really DO mean it when they say they're happy for the overall winner - they're pretty much all besties by that point!
10 of 1710. They make more cakes than you’d ever dreamed of
They bake a Victoria Sponge in each oven every single morning of filming, to make sure everything is ship-shape and ready to go. We imagine everyone gets a bit sick of tucking into that particular type of cake come the end of filming!
11 of 1711. The show is LITERALLY based on village fetes
That's right; Anna Beattie, the show's creator, really believed that village fete baking competitions would suit TV. Anna, judging by the viewing figures, was 100% correct!
12 of 1712. Mel and Sue recommended Mary Berry
The duo were approached to present the show together - and they were quick to suggest that Mary Berry should be a judge back when GBBO was on BBC One. The show moved to Channel 4 in 2017 without Mary Berry.
13 of 1713. It’s not a disaster if someone forgets an ingredient
In fact, producers are well and truly prepared if this happens; they have a runner on standby at a local supermarket every morning in case a contestant realises overnight that they've forgotten an ingredient.
14 of 1714. Oven time is crucial
So much so that contestants aren't allowed to put anything in - or take anything out of - the oven without flagging a producer down first. They want to make sure that they have a camera on standby to film those big baking moments.
15 of 1715. The Bake Off challenges are NOT surprises
If you make it through to the Bake Off finals, you will be told what the challenges are going to be - and you'll have to submit your recipes for approval. Eep! No pressure, eh?
16 of 1716. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood were off limits
Back when the show was on BBC One, they prefered to keep things professional with contestants, and wouldn't usually speak to them outside of the Bake Off tent.
17 of 1717. … but Mel and Sue weren't
The duo were happy to chat to contestants away from the cameras - and Sue even said that she likes to stay in touch with them via email once the show is all over. N'aww.
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Their relationship was made public in November 2017 – just weeks after Paul announced his split from wife-of-19-years Alexandra, 53, with whom he shares 18-year-old son Josh.
And sources say that due to the scandal their relationship caused, Paul always wanted to keep things private – and now he’s terrified she’ll ruin his reputation.
The source adds, “Paul issued the NDA to keep their relationship as private as possible, and now Summer will potentially be going on TV. He’s convinced she’ll try to embarrass him and doesn’t want her to become a TV star. He’s already working to repair all the damage that’s been done and thinks something like this could ruin his career."
Read even more celeb news in this week's Closer magazine - out now.