WHISK takers!

PAUL HOLLYWOOD and DAME PRUE LEITH on how they are mixing things up a little for this year's series

- REBECCA FLETCHER

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF
TUESDAY, 8PM, C4 COOKERY

Dame Prue Leith is trying to convince us that Paul Hollywood is a softie at heart.

'Honestly, he's nice! On camera, Paul looks quite stern but, off camera, he often has his arm around the bakers offering support and advice," says Prue, 84, smiling at the man himself as the popular judges join TV Times for an exclusive photo shoot and chat about the current series of C4's The Great British Bake Off.

'I've always been soft!' winks Paul, 58. 'Well, I tell the truth, which sometimes comes across as quite grumpy, but I call it what it is. If a bake's good, it's good, and if it's bad, it's bad. I just don't mince my words.

After kicking off on Tuesday 24 September with Cake Week, the 15th series continues this Tuesday with Biscuit Week, in which the remaining bakers are challenged to create Viennese sandwich biscuits, a retro minty classic and a biscuit puppet theatre.

'I always feel sorry for the bakers on Biscuit Week as it invariably involves building it's about engineering!' says Prue, who, here, with Paul reveals all we 'knead' to know about this year's contest...

How does it feel to be back in the tent?

PRUE I always find the first weeks of the competition exciting. I'm quite surprised that I've been here so long [Prue joined the team in 2017, when the show moved from BBC1 to C4], as I’m not really a stayer, but I genuinely love it.

PAUL I always give the side of the tent a little rub when I walk in – it’s been a friend to me for years! Bake Off [which began in 2010] has taken up a large chunk of my life and I still love doing it.

What’s your take on the 2024 batch of bakers?