Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood has opened up about the 'downside' of being a judge on the much-loved show.
In a chat with Mark Forrest on Scala Radio, father-of-one Paul admitted that starring on the baking series has 'damaged' him'
When asked by Mark how keen he would be to sign up for The Great British Bake Off after now having been on the show since the launch in 2010, Paul said "That’s a loaded question… obviously I love the programme, love it. It is one of the best jobs I’ve ever done."
He then added: "You are watched under a microscope, unfairly so in a sense of I’m not a politician, I’m not a judge, I judge sponges on it. I find that really difficult because I’m quite a private person anyway…, so would I have done it, I would think very very carefully, I would be very reticent."
The 56-year-old star went on to reveal that he has never really become comfortable being in the public eye and prefers to spend a lot of time at his home in rural Kent.
"I tend to get very nervous going into cities with lots of people and I think it has made me that way now.
"I never used to be like that but now I have become very insular, sort of looking over my glasses, wearing a beanie, keeping my head down," he explained.
"I tend to keep to myself to myself nowadays and I think that is the downside and it has changed me from that perspective."
Speaking about the negative reaction he received when Bake Off moved from the BBC to Channel 4, Paul said: "I mean I have grown quite a thick skin now and I sort of brush it off and go, 'whatever it is fine', but it did affect me, yeah for sure and it probably has damaged me to a point."
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