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Like the Cleopatra of cake, new Great British Bake Off judge Nigella Lawson reclines on a chaise longue throughout our interview, gently fanning herself. Fellow judge Paul Hollywood chuckles from a nearby armchair. “She’d sit like this between takes in the tent,” he says indulgently. “Reading a book and sipping a coffee while someone fed her grapes.” “Peeled grapes,” specifies Lawson with a grin.
After Prue Leith stepped down from soggy bottom-spotting duties in January – on the unarguable basis that “I’m 86, for goodness sake!” – there was widespread jubilation when Lawson was announced as her replacement. The arrival of the domestic goddess has created serious buzz around Bake Off’s upcoming series. A contest that was at risk of growing stale has become essential viewing again, thanks to the velvet-voiced, spatula-licking doyenne of culinary TV.
“It was lovely to see Nigella come into the tent,” says Hollywood. “We’ve only had two changes to the judging team in 16 years but it’s worked really well. I’ve always been a big fan and she fitted in beautifully – not just with me but with the whole team. She picked up the Bake Off vibe straight away. It was pretty seamless, actually.”
Her TV career was launched with Nigella Bites way back in 1999. Why Bake Off, and why now? “I wanted to do something a bit different,” says Lawson. “I’ve written many books, which I adore, but it means spending a lot of time alone. I was keen to be part of something bigger, part of a team. When I was approached about Bake Off, I instinctively thought: ‘That would be lovely.’ It almost feels too good to be true that you can enjoy something this much and call it work.”
Predictably, there have been tabloid rumours that the judgely duo have been butting heads. Lawson allegedly said that Hollywood arriving on set at Welford Park in a helicopter was “cringe”, which is all the evidence gossipmongers need. Yet there’s no sign of tension on screen, let alone today. Their conversation is full of good-natured ribbing and punctuated by peals of laughter. Hollywood seems enchanted by his new partner-in-cake, while Lawson is endearingly self-effacing, all too aware that she’s joining a long-running hit and simply doesn’t want to “stuff it up”.
Before her appointment was confirmed, the pair had an unofficial chemistry test at a Channel 4 event. “We chatted for 10 minutes and had a great time, didn’t we?” recalls Lawson. “I knew instantly it was going to work. It surprised even us, I think, how well we hit it off. It was lucky that we did get on. Can you imagine if we didn’t? I bet Paul would have said so!”
What does she like about the marquee’s resident master baker? “One of the many lovely things about Paul is that he’s good at being teased. I called him ‘Professor Precision’, then he teased me back and suddenly it all relaxed. He’s much more playful than he looks on camera. He often acts bad cop and does that laser stare but he’s always himself, which encourages other people to be themselves, too. We complement each other. He gets straight to the point and, as you can tell, I’m a witterer. I love talking about food and sometimes can’t stop. When I wittered on in the tent, I did see him go like this once …” She mimes pretending to nod off. He shrugs unrepentantly.
Once she was officially onboard, Lawson hosted separate bonding sessions with her co-stars. “I decided to meet everyone properly before we started,” she says. “I didn’t want the first time we hung out together to be on set.” Hollywood came first. “I went for drinks at Nigella’s house,” he remembers. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Was there food? “Salami, olives, that kind of thing,” says Lawson. “I wasn’t going to bake for him. That would be madness.” “I was disappointed,” deadpans Hollywood. “I was hoping for a cake on a gingham altar.”
“Play your cards right and you never know,” she shoots back. “No, I wanted it to be as relaxed as possible. Paul brought a bottle of red wine and said: ‘Do you want a glass?’ I said, ‘You’ll have to open it yourself. I’m wearing a white suit!’ And we went from there.” Next came co-hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond. “Noel came round for tea and I did make him a cake,” Lawson confesses. “Oh, thanks very much,” says Hollywood.
“I love Noel,” she continues. “He and I look like two ghouls first thing in the morning.” “Two goths, climbing out of your coffins,” laughs Hollywood. Lawson puts her pale forearm next to his teak-tanned one. “Look! I have to be painted a bit brown, otherwise it’d cause issues for the camera.” And Hammond? “I met Alison at This Morning and we went out to lunch. I hitched a ride to the restaurant in her car and we were practically married by the time we arrived. We have a real laugh together and talked about everything.”
The love affair seems to be mutual. Fielding has compared her to “an Italian film star”, while Hammond says: “We’re obsessed.” As they pose for photos, Hammond whispers: “Doesn’t Nigella look beautiful? She’s a vision!” “Stop it,” scoffs Lawson modestly.
When the casting call came, it wasn’t an immediate yes. “I was apprehensive at first,” she admits. “I wasn’t sure whether I was even qualified and mindful that it was a risk, both for me and the show. So I had a big meeting with the producers and said: ‘Look, these are the things I can’t do.’ They said: ‘That’s OK, that’s what Paul does.’ I didn’t want them to go to the wrong shop, as it were. I’m not a scientist, a technician or a professional baker but what I can do is talk about food, its taste, texture and why I like it. I said: ‘If you now decide you don’t want me after all, I promise I won’t be offended.’ Happily they still did.”
Hollywood previously formed partnerships with Dame Mary Berry and Dame Prue Leith. He refers to their successor in regal terms: “I’ve gone dame, dame, queen. I loved working with Mary. She’s got a lot of bantz, has Bez. We made a good team with Mel and Sue. We’d watch Eurovision, all sitting on the bed in dressing gowns. Prue and I would open a bottle of wine and put the world to rights. Nigella and I have done a very similar thing – not with wine but with a couple of dirty martinis or spicy margaritas.”
Lawson describes her judging style as “pretty direct”. “I assumed I was going to be good cop but realised I just have to be honest. I can’t pretend if I don’t like something. Honesty can feel a bit brutal but you’re not critiquing the person, you’re critiquing the bake. It’s not personal. We’ve all got our own palate and can only speak subjectively.” This double act have their own areas of expertise. “I talk about flavour because eating is my superpower. I’m learning from Paul, though. I’ll start stealing all his lines, going: ‘This needs another three minutes, turn the oven up 20 degrees.’ But on the whole, I talk taste and he talks technique. You’ve got to play to your strengths.”
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As an avowed Bake Off superfan – she reels off a list of her favourite alumni, from series one winner Edd Kimber through to last year’s Jasmine Mitchell – how was walking into the fabled tent for the first time? “Oh god, a bit overwhelming,” she confesses. “But I held hands with Alison, which helped. It felt daunting but became cosy within about two minutes.”
This year, the climate crisis came for Bake Off. We’re meeting on one of summer’s most sweltering days, with temperatures hitting 35 degrees. Was it this hot in the tent during filming? “Hotter, like a greenhouse” grimaces Lawson. “Plus you’ve got a mic pack on, which is like wearing a mini radiator. The bakers coped well, considering.” Were there melting chocolate disasters? “It was more caramel that was the issue,” says Hollywood. “There were some sticky moments.” “And that was just Paul,” quips Lawson.
Don’t expect mention of microwaves. Lawson went viral in 2020 when she jokingly referred to her “meecro-wah-vay” – a clip shortlisted as one of Bafta’s TV moments of the year. It was a family in-joke and she’s determined to resist saying it again, instead calling it “the you-know-what”. Bake Off viewers, however, should listen out for a reference to “desecrated coconut”.
Her predecessor Leith had a penchant for boozy bakes. Does Lawson have a similar sweet spot? “It’s not a sweet one, actually,” says Hollywood. “Nigella loves salt.” “I don’t mean over-salty,” she says. “Just that a pinch of salt can balance the sweetness. Similarly, I love anything citrus. A tang of sharp and bitter, rather than unadulterated sweetness. That’s why having raspberries in a vanilla cake is nice. They all tease me, saying: ‘Just add a tablespoon of salt and she’ll like it.’ I’m landed with that now.” “So much so that our WhatsApp group is called Salty Gang,” says Hollywood. Who’s the most active? “Not us,” says Lawson. “It’s mostly Noel and Alison sending funny stuff. We just reply with laughing emojis, like old people.”
The Nigella factor is likely to give Britain’s biggest cookery show a ratings boost. “She’s a breath of fresh air, for sure,” says Hollywood. “Certainly for my male mates. They’ve told me they’ll be tuning in for the first time in 16 bloody years!”
Lawson demurs. “Not trying to be humble but it’s not about me. I’m joining a long-established, deeply loved show. Bake Off is a national treasure with a fabulous audience. It’s been part of people’s lives over many years. I wouldn’t blame them if they thought: ‘Oi, why is she coming on my programme?’ As long as I don’t actively drive people away, I’ll be happy.” Will the viewing figures include the new judge herself? “I don’t like watching myself but I do want to see it because there’s an awful lot of action that we’re not around for. I’ll fast-forward through my bits and watch the bakers.”
During her first time in the tent, the new recruit had a hoot. “We sometimes did a bit too much rabbiting and got told to shush,” says Lawson. “We had so much fun. Even Paul got the giggles. Alison once sent us out of the tent in disgrace. Paul’s very good at remaining poker-faced and then when nobody else is looking, he makes faces at you.” Has Hammond succeeded in her mission to get them all dancing? “I cannot dance on camera, I told her that,” says Lawson. “As judges, we need to retain a modicum of decorum and dignity … we try, anyway.”
Salty and sassy, it sounds like La Lawson is in the tent to stay. “Bake Off’s like Hotel California,” says Hollywood. “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave. And I think Nigella’s here for good.”
The Great British Bake Off returns on Tuesday 22 September at 8pm on Channel 4.
