Paul Hollywood admits he put on weight during lockdown because he couldn’t cycle

Paul Hollywood has revealed that like a lot of people he has gained some weight during lockdown.

The Great British Bake Off judge, 54, has said that he put on a few extra pounds because he couldn’t leave his house to ride his bike.

He also blamed a change in filming style on the Channel 4 show, which means now that there are no breaks between trying all the different bakes they are eating non-stop.

Speaking to The Sun, Paul said: “For the first time I put a bit of weight on this year — I wanted to get out more.

“Normally I’m out on the bike, I’m out doing stuff out and away, but I put a little bit of weight on.”

He added: “It’s really difficult when you’re there, because you always start off and you’re eating so much stuff.

“We used to have a little gap in between each one. Now we’re not so it felt like you were constantly eating!”

His comments come after it was reported that filming had to be paused when there was a suspected case of coronavirus on set.

The person, who was not named by bosses, had to isolate and was tested straight away.

Letty Kavanagh, Bake Off’s executive producer and managing director at Love Productions, told Metro: “Somebody spoke to our medical team because they were showing symptoms that could have been Covid.

“We had very strict protocols about what to do – they were isolated immediately, as was anyone who had been in close contact with them.

“They were tested immediately and we paused filming for an afternoon.”

*Bake Off will return to Channel 4 on September 22