Paul Hollywood

Paul Hollywood was an English baker and TV personality who was best known for serving as one of the judges on the hit cooking show "The Great British Bake Off" (BBC, 2010- ). Born and raised in the Cheshire County of England, baking was always a part of Hollywood's life. Both his grandfather and father worked as bakers, and Hollywood spent most of his formative years learning the craft at his father's bakery in London. When it came time to enter college, however, Hollywood chose to study sculpture at the Wallasey School of Art. His stay in art school was brief, however, and Hollywood eventually quit Wallasey to embark on his own baking career. He worked at a number of hotel bakeries throughout England in his 20s, and eventually went on to become the head baker at some of London's most prestigious hotels. Feeling like he needed a change, Hollywood moved to the small Mediterranean island of Cyrpus where he worked as a baker for a number of resorts. Hollywood stayed in Cyprus for a few years before returning to England where he continued his baking career. With decades of baking experience under his belt, Hollywood was already one of the most respected bakers in all of England by the late 2000s. Then in 2010 producers of a new show called "The Great British Bake Off" came calling. They wanted Hollywood to be one of the show's judges, and he accepted. "The Great British Bake Off" quickly became a breakout hit on the BBC, making Hollywood a household name in his native England. Hollywood became such a breakout star that in 2013 he was given his own show called "Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds" (BBC, 2013). That show, however, was cancelled after one season. In August of 2016 "The Great British Bake Off," which had already become the most watched program in Britain, premiered its seventh season with Hollywood retaining his role as one of the judges.