‘The Great British Baking Show’ Judge Mary Berry Says She Told White Lies

On the Great British Baking Show, Mary Berry is known as a harsh critic, but she says she tells white lies as to not hurt people’s feelings. The show’s other judge, Paul Hollywood, likely would never say such a thing, but Berry says she tries not to hurt the feelings of the contestants.

Fox News spoke to Berry, who says that she wants to give people credit for trying hard.

“We did have a wonderful man and he made a beetroot cake. It really was awful but we didn’t say it was nasty because he would get so upset. There were quite a few things I didn’t like so much. People know when they’ve done something awful. It’s been so bad it made me feel quite ill,” she said.

Berry explains that she tries to be diplomatic, while Hollywood can often be “harsh” and he thinks she is often a Pollyanna.

“We had great fun. He was brilliant at bread and I had my thing. I could sometimes tick him off. He was a bit harsh and I was trying to encourage people. [People] don’t need to be told off about it, they need to know to how to have success next time.”

For £17 each a night, you can stay in Mary Berry's former Devon homehttps://t.co/iXlt9NqZ6G pic.twitter.com/UarzEAcq1n

— Good Housekeeping UK (@GHmagazine) August 18, 2018

Season 5 of The Great British Baking Show just had its season finale on PBS, but in truth, that season aired in 2015 in the U.K. In Great Britain, the show has now changed networks, which caused a cast shake-up too. Sue, Mel, and Mary did not make the transition from BBC One to Channel 4, but Paul is back with professional baker Prue Leith, says Express.

And it sounds like Leith is more sympathetic to Paul Hollywood’s demeanor and judging style.

“When you get the Hollywood stare, you never know what he’s going to say, whether ‘it’s terrible’ or whether he’s going to put his hand out and give them a handshake. One of the contestants was really crying, because everything had gone wrong and it was terrible. And Paul said the flavor was fantastic, it was a really imaginative thing, well done. Then he said, ‘But it was *****.'”

But even if Mary and Paul have some differences of opinion, the two do work well together, as both have their strengths. Berry is a top-notch baker and cookbook author whose talents with “sponge” can’t be denied. Hollywood’s background is in the restaurant industry, his level of patience isn’t quite as well-honed as Berry’s.

Paul will be back on Season 6 of The Great British Baking Show.