Paul Hollywood "threatens" his son not to give the ‘Great British Bake Off’ result away.
The baking competition is filmed in advance, with the family and friends of those involved in the show enjoying a garden party finale, and the 50-year-old judge admits he’s resorted to withholding finances in a bid to stop 14-year-old Josh – who he has with wife Alexandra – from spilling the beans.
He admitted: "My son Josh comes to the final every year, but he’s threatened with no pocket money if he says anything about who wins."
Despite spending weeks with the contestants, Paul insists he and co-judge Mary Berry have no idea who will win the show until the final day.
He said: "You can’t make your minds up about a finalist early on – even when you get to the final and you know the three that will be on it, you think, ‘Oh I don’t know.’ "
And the panelist thinks the standard of this year’s competition has been higher than ever, thanks to the huge success of 2015 winner Nadiya Hussain, who took the contest to a "whole new level".
He added to Closer magazine: "I think the bakers felt that extra pressure for the first time this series. But because of that, the standard this year got really good.
"It was so rewarding, in different ways, to previous shows."
And show presenter Sue Perkins – who co-hosts the competition with Mel Giedroyc – feels sorry for this year’s hopefuls as the standard has been raised higher than ever over the last few series.
She said: "The bar has been set so high over the last three series, they know what the standard is. I feel for them."
Paul Hollywood threatens son over GBBO result
