Bake Off's Paul Hollywood has 'severe' health issue and admits he's 'petrified'
Paul Hollywood has shared how he used to suffer from a "severe" case of carpal tunnel syndrome before admitting the idea of going under the knife "petrifies" him.
The 58-year-old has been a regular staple on the ever-popular Great British Bake Off, having appeared as a judge on the inaugural BBC Two show back in 2010.
However, Paul's career as a baker started more than 40 years ago when he left Wallasey Art School to join the family bakery, aged just 17.
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Decades spent kneading dough has come at a price for Paul as it left him with severe nerve damage in his wrists, a condition which would lead to a complete loss of sensation in his hands if untreated.
In a previous interview on the Graham Norton show, the dad of one said he was forced to stop baking due to the condition before a doctor told him he needed to undergo surgery to correct the problem.
Speaking on the BBC chat show, Paul said: "I've got carpal tunnel syndrome in both my wrists, it's severe. It was diagnosed about four years ago, I went to speak to a consultant about it and he said 'Listen, you're going to have to have an operation'.
"I don't actually bake as much hands on as I used to, I miss it. But now I've sort of stopped baking as much as I used to, it's actually alleviated a lot of the pain."
Around one in 20 Britons are affected by carpal tunnel syndrome which causes pain and numbness in the hands. It is caused by the compression of one of the nerves in the hands called the median nerve.
Paul said that former Bake Off co-host Mary Berry also suffered with the condition before undergoing an operation herself. "I did speak to Mary about it and she goes 'Oh I had it done," Paul said.
"It's healed quite nicely, it just petrified me the idea of slicing the band. Because I race cars at the moment, it's really difficult. I'd rather not do it at the moment."
Earlier this week, Paul and fellow Bake Off judge Prue Leith crowned Chris Bisson The Great Christmas Bake Off winner.
The Channel 4 baking show saw EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy, Coronation Street and Emmerdale star Bisson, EastEnders’ Dean Gaffney, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks star Sheree Murphy and Coronation Street’s Shobna Gulati face off for the festive title.
Paul said it was a “very close” decision between fellow Emmerdale star Murphy, but Bisson “got better and better”.
Paul will be joining gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh and Alan's former Ground Force co-star Charlie Dimmock on ITV's Love Your Weekend on Sunday. Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh airs on ITV1 London at 9:30 AM, Sunday 29 December.
