'Nigella thinks it's all rather cringe': How 'gauche' Paul Hollywood's £500K toy is curdling relations with his posh new Bake Off co-star as insiders tell KATIE HIND they 'aren't really getting on too well'

By KATIE HIND, CONSULTANT EDITOR SHOWBUSINESS Published: 01:00, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 01:17, 19 July 2026 Paul Hollywood certainly likes to make an entrance when he arrives in the grounds of historic Welford Park to film The Great British Bake Off. The estate is nestled in the Berkshire countryside, just five miles from Newbury, and the loudest noise you’re ever likely to hear is the crunching of gravel under the wheels of a mud-splattered Range Rover. Until now. Because Hollywood’s arrival – as booming as it is eye-catching – involves him flying in by helicopter. More specifically, in his £500,000 Robinson Raven, which he has taken to using for the 120-mile commute from his home in Kent. And it’s not just the local kestrels that are put out by his choice of transport. His new co-star, Nigella Lawson, who arrives on set like everyone else – in a car – is just as perplexed by Hollywood’s showy entrance. Sources say she finds his lavish travel arrangements ‘all rather cringe’ and that tensions are already brewing between the pair. ‘They aren’t really getting on too well,’ says my twitcher inside the tent, where filming is under way ahead of the new series, which will be shown in September. ‘Paul rather liked having [previous co-star] Prue Leith there. She was a stoic woman who has a terrific sense of humour.’ His new judging partner is in a different league, however. Paul Hollywood’s arrival involves him flying in by helicopter. More specifically, in his £500,000 Robinson Raven, which he has taken to using for the 120-mile commute from his home in Kent ‘Nigella is sexy, she’s classy and she’s a national treasure,’ my source explains. ‘Put it this way: imagine if you’re super-rich Nigella and you see your co-star turning up in a helicopter, presumably to avoid the traffic and have a little bit of a show-off, you’re going to think it’s all a bit ghastly. ‘Nigella is worth £15million, she’s old money. Her father was Chancellor of the Exchequer and her mother was heir to a fortune. ‘Paul might be worth over £10million himself, but is all a bit gauche and new rich. ‘He loves that helicopter – it’s very much a status symbol for him, but frankly it also makes him come across as a right berk. ‘There has been some sniggering behind the scenes.’ But, conversely, Hollywood is said to be ‘put out’ by her arrival. The self-styled heartthrob catapulted to fame when he was cast as an original judge on BBC’s Bake Off when it launched in 2010, having been one of the UK’s leading artisan bakers. Before Prue, father-of-one Hollywood was paired with Dame Mary Berry and they shared a special ‘mum and son-like bond’, say insiders. But following Prue’s departure, Oxford graduate Nigella – who has built a successful career as a food writer and broadcaster – was recruited last year to replace her. I’m told the show’s bosses and Channel 4 executives viewed their hiring as a ‘super coup’, on account of Nigella having been largely out of the limelight for some years. Ever since humiliating details emerged of her cocaine use in 2013 and a picture was published showing her ex-husband Charles Saatchi putting his hands around her neck outside a Mayfair restaurant, her TV appearances have been few and far between. Following Prue Leith’s departure, Oxford graduate Nigella – who has built a successful career as a food writer and broadcaster – was recruited last year to replace her Yet she is said to be ‘adored’ in the Bake Off tent, where she has been filming its 17th series along with hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding. However, her presence has been tricky for Hollywood, who turned 60 in March. ‘Paul is used to being the big star,’ says my source. ‘While Mary was a national treasure, he was the one who got all the attention. But now Nigella has come along, that isn’t the case any more. ‘There isn’t a chef in the country who is loved more than Nigella. It has been a struggle for Paul to work with that. ‘Nigella is known for her coquettish charm, which has men falling at her feet. That’s not quite the case with Paul. ‘He loves himself and revels in being the top dog. Mary and Prue were happy for him to stand out and make all the jokes. He pretends he doesn’t like the attention or the Press but really he does.’ Even more irritating for Hollywood, I imagine, is that Nigella was brought in to increase ratings after viewing figures fell by 500,000 during last year’s series. It is hoped that the 66-year-old will inject some sexiness into Bake Off and give Hollywood a run for his money when it comes to the baking innuendos. Indeed, say insiders, his talk of ‘soggy bottoms’ – to describe an undercooked pastry base – will feel ‘tame’ compared to Nigella’s arsenal of naughty asides. And I’m told she ‘has been coming out with some belters’. Here’s hoping she can match her previous efforts, which include her description of the perfect custard as being ‘firm but not immobile... Soft, warm and voluptuous – like an 18th-century courtesan’s inner thigh.’ I’m told the show’s bosses and Channel 4 executives viewed their hiring as a ‘super coup’, on account of Nigella having been largely out of the limelight for some years Nigella also once claimed she ‘couldn’t go to sleep without a chocolate salami’. And when making the Italian dish Pasta alla Puttanesca, she called it ‘Slut’s Spaghetti’ – a direct translation – while purring: ‘Some like it hot, and I certainly do.’ ‘Nigella has been excellent during filming,’ says a source. ‘She is a natural, she’s hilarious, competent and looks amazing.’ Channel 4 is ‘beyond excited’ at the prospect of its viewers seeing Nigella back on television. ‘Prue’s decision to retire gave the bosses an opportunity to make a big change,’ says my source. ‘It felt like it needed a bit of an injection of something and Nigella is seen as the answer, and the future of the show.’ If anything, the fallout from her divorce with Saatchi and the incident outside Scott’s restaurant – which friends said ‘scarred’ her – won her more affection from viewers. She had married him in 2003, two years after losing her first husband, columnist John Diamond, to cancer. There was more upset to come during a fraud trial of sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, who had worked as personal assistants for Nigella and Saatchi. The siblings were accused of using company credit cards to spend £685,000 on luxury goods. They were found not guilty and claimed Nigella allowed the spending to cover up her cocaine use. Giving evidence, Nigella admitted taking the drug a handful of times with her late husband John and once during her marriage to Saatchi. She blamed her unhappiness for her cocaine use, which she said made an ‘intolerable situation tolerable,’ but she denied being an addict or having a drug problem. However, her presence has been tricky for Hollywood, who turned 60 in March. ‘Paul is used to being the big star,’ says my source Since then she has spent much of her time working abroad. There was reality cooking competition The Taste in the US and, in 2016, she signed to MasterChef Australia as a guest judge. In 2022, she went back to Australia, where she co-hosted and judged My Kitchen Rules, another competitive cooking show. Her last appearance in a British series was Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat on BBC2 in 2020. A TV wilderness of six years will feel far longer for fans, but they needn’t worry for her comfort, as she lives in a £5million converted stables in Chelsea, west London, and is not thought to have a current partner. Meanwhile, 50 miles away, her new co-host has made a name for himself among his neighbours in a village near Ashford. Hollywood has been nicknamed ‘The Tom Cruise of Kent’ there, thanks to the regular sight of helicopters, supercars and high-powered motorbikes coming and going from his 18th-century Grade II-listed farmhouse. Cruise, of course, was known for using a chopper to travel to his film sets while he lived in the UK. However, some locals were reported to be furious that Hollywood was landing on a strip of land between his farmhouse and the local pub, complaining that the noise ‘spooked’ their horses. Consequently, he was forced to move his Robinson Raven to the nearby Manston aerodrome, where he has been training for his pilot’s licence. Apart from the run-in with his neighbours, Hollywood is said to now be living a ‘tranquil’ life with his wife, former pub landlady Melissa Spalding, whom he married in Cyprus in 2023. She made an honest man out of him after his headline-grabbing romance with barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam. The couple dated for two years following Hollywood’s split from his wife Alex, the mother of his son, after 20 years of marriage. When he’s not filming, he prefers the peace of the countryside and baking at home, having shunned the public eye in recent years. But now that he has been paired with Nigella, Bake Off insiders wonder whether he will grow envious of the attention she will garner – prompting him to raise his publicity game. ‘When the new series starts in September it will be all about Nigella,’ one said. ‘There is no way he is going to like that.’ Managing these stars will certainly prove a technical challenge for producers, but viewers will hope that the clash of egos won’t become a show-stopper.