Paul Hollywood by Andrew Dagnell

Author:Andrew Dagnell [A S Dagnell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784188511
Publisher: John Blake
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

The George Clooney of Baking

Paul had managed to turn himself into a prime-time TV star perhaps when he himself least expected it. And it was all thanks to his passion and love for baking – something that he had dedicated his life to from an early age. But while his finesse in the kitchen may have propelled him to TV stardom, there was something else that would cement him as a true celebrity… the fact that scores of middle-aged women were seemingly falling head over heels in love with him! Suddenly it wasn’t just the fact that he knew his trade inside out and could deliver incisive comments to the contestants on The Great British Bake Off that was sending his popularity soaring. Indeed, it was a lot more primal.

Female writers the length and breadth of Britain took to their keyboards to heap praise on Paul’s vital statistics. ‘Hot baker Paul Hollywood is making temperatures soar in kitchens all over Britain,’ said the Daily Mirror. Meanwhile, Christine Smith in the Sunday Mirror swooned over him in a gushing piece, saying: ‘With those piercing blue eyes and the masterful way he critiques a croissant, it’s no wonder Paul Hollywood has become a bit of a sex symbol.’ Another simply said: ‘With such easy charm, is there any wonder Paul’s become the housewives’ pin-up?’

And that was just the beginning of the adulation. Soon his female fans would shower him with praise, both in person when they bumped into him on the street and on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. One fan told him: ‘You rock my world,’ while another chimed in: ‘You can squeeze my buns any time.’ Others were more specific in terms of what it was that got their pulses racing. ‘He’s got eyes to die for,’ one baking fan raved. ‘He’s so tasty,’ said another. ‘It’s the way he stares at contestants so intensely when he is tasting their bakes,’ added another devotee. Some even dubbed him a ‘silver fox’ – a term colloquially used to describe an attractive older man and, more generally, one who has gray hair and is often desired by younger women.

By the time the third series of Great British Bake Off kicked off in 2012, Paul’s status as the least likely sex symbol was cemented. One writer, Jan Moir, even dubbed him ‘the George Clooney of baking’ when she was sent to interview him for the Daily Mail. The comparison is perhaps an easy one to understand – both men are experts in their field, adored by women, slightly older than the stereotypical male pin-up, and they easily slot into the sophisticated, suave ‘silver fox’ category. Jan Moir summarised the way in which women were no longer just fascinated by the buns baking in Paul’s oven. In 2012, she described him as ‘an unlikely sex symbol’ and went on: ‘Look at him. He wears his shirt-tails over his dad jeans, his hair is gelled into porcupine spikes, his little goatee is frosted with grey.

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