Nigella Lawson has been pictured alongside all her Great British Bake Off co-stars for the first time after rumours that she and Paul Hollywood weren’t ‘getting on too well’.
The 66-year-old TV chef is replacing Dame Prue Leith as a judge on the Channel 4 baking show after the 86-year-old announced in January she was stepping down.
In a picture taken on her first day of filming in the Bake Off tent, Nigella is wearing a black zipped dress and standing between presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, with her fellow judge Paul smiling from the end.
Filming is complete on the series, which will air from next month.
Channel 4 said fans can expect to see Nigella bringing her ‘trademark warmth, wit and passion for flavour to the tent’.
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Paul, 60, who has been on the show since it started in 2010, returned alongside co-hosts Alison, 51, and Noel, 53.
Previously Alison said that the chemistry between the two judges was ‘unbelievable’, telling host Lorraine Kelly in May, while referring to a blown-up photo of Nigella and Paul onscreen: ‘Look, you can feel it, can’t you? Don’t they look good-looking? Look at them!’
Elaborating on her point, Alison exclaimed: ‘Honestly, they’re so good together. Because I’ll be honest with you, they don’t always agree, and it’s so good!’
In July there were rumours that the judges were ‘not getting on’ as Nigella reportedly felt it was ‘rather cringe’ that Paul made an entrance by commuting to the set each day in his £500,000 helicopter, flying it himself 120 miles from his home in Kent.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘He loves that helicopter – it’s very much a status symbol for him, but frankly it also makes him come across as a right berk.’
The insider continued: ‘Put it this way: imagine if you’re super-rich Nigella and you see your co-star turning up in a helicopter, presumably to avoid the traffic and have a little bit of a show-off, you’re going to think it’s all a bit ghastly.’
It was also alleged, by the same insider, that Paul and Nigella ‘aren’t really getting on too well’ – but nothing has been said by either to suggest any kind of friction.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning in January about joining Bake Off, Nigella said: ‘I am excited, but I take it very seriously.
‘The thing about Bake Off is that it’s about the programme – which is an institution of national treasure status – and it’s about the bakers, and I just want to be there and be a part of it.’
On Friday Dame Prue had confirmed she was still ‘alive and kicking’ after being taken to hospital over fears she had suffered a stroke.
She replaced original Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry from the 2017 series.
One of the most recognisable faces on TV, Nigella became a household name in the late 1990s with her hugely successful cookbooks and cookery shows.
The Oxford graduate worked as a journalist before becoming a food writer, producing popular cookery books like How To Eat and How To Be A Domestic Goddess – which won her the British Book Award for author of the year in 2001.
TV work followed, starting with the Channel 4 show Nigella Bites, before she crossed over to ITV and then the BBC.
She has also become popular in the US, appearing on several food-related shows, including as a guest judge on its version of MasterChef.
The Great British Bake Off returns to Channel 4 next month.
