'TV is the career icing on the cake'

The Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood on crying with Alison Hammond and his advice for Dame Mary Berry

-  GEMMA CALVERT

Paul Hollywood's latest book, Celebrate, has a dedication to Melissa Spalding, his wife – a subtle but generous public declaration of love.

The couple, who wed in September 2023, live in Paul's 18th-century Kent farmhouse, where they relish a quiet life.

'Melissa and I like a bit of rest and recuperation, and to kick back,' confirms the celebrity chef, adding that baking is not a shared marital passion.

'She doesn't bake. She wants me to bake. She says, "Why have a dog and bark yourself?" That's her philosophy with baking! So I do it.'

Just hours before his interview with Woman's Weekly, the couple returned from a break in Cyprus, a place Paul lovingly calls 'home' and where he married his first wife Alex, two years after meeting there in 1996, while working as head baker at a Cypriot hotel. After their marriage ended in 2019, Paul returned to the island to say 'I do' to Melissa, 41.

'I consider it my second home,' explains Paul. 'I might retire there – it will be somewhere that no one will ever find me because I know places in the mountains that no one knows. I can disappear in Cyprus really easily!'

God forbid! For 16 years, Paul has been a big draw for Bake Off fans, who adore his playful humour and straight-talking critique, not to mention his lovely piercing blue eyes.