Paul Hollywood's five-word response after Blake Lively shares Instagram post about him
Paul Hollywood has become renowned for his handshake in the Great British Bake Off tent, so much so, that it's even being talked about by Hollywood stars.
The judge of the Channel 4 bakery competition started doing a handshake to show a contestant how much he loved their work. Since then, this gesture has become integral to the experience for both audiences and contestants.
And when he appeared on ITV's Love Your Weekened with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday, December 29, he shared with the host just how much of a reaction the handshake gets with actress Blake Lively, married to fellow Hollywood star and Wrexham FC owner Ryan Reynolds, even mentioning it on social media. Paul described the response in five words - "a bit over the top".
He told Alan: "For me it was just a 'well done'. It's excitement for me - I love baking and when I see something that I like it's like 'fantastic, you've done a really good job.' People like the Hollywood stars, Blake Lively, who's Ryan Reynold's wife, was doing a bake on her Instagram cc'd me in and said 'I hope Paul Hollywood likes this and I get a handshake'."
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He continued: "So I sent an emoji of a handshake to her and she came back and repeated it and put it on her site and everyone was like 'Paul Hollywood's given you a a handshake'. I just find it all a bit over the top."
Paul was appearing on the Sunday morning programme ahead of the second festive Bake Off special, which celebrates Hogmanay and sees former Scottish contestants returning to the tent. It will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Friday, January 3.
He spoke about how much he enjoys working with fellow judge Prue Leith and how he admires former judge Mary Berry and admitted there wasn't really much difference working with either of them.
He said: "I'm very fond of the two Dames. I found them both unbelievable to work with, they taught me a lot as well and I just love spending time with them. The difference I suppose is I'd have a gin with Prue and a glass of white wine with Mary at the end of the day. How lucky am I to spend time with these people because they're fantastic chefs and I have a lot of respect and time for them."
Love Your Weekend With Alan Titchmarsh is on ITV Sundays at 9.30am and on ITVX
