Did ‘The Great British Baking Show’s Paul Hollywood Cheat By Helping Maxy?

A reality competition show like The Great British Baking Show only works if you believe that the judges treat every contestant fairly. This is why Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith leave the tent during the Technical Challenge and why they do their darnedest to never, ever offer advice to the bakers while they’re still baking. Pointers on technique can come after the judging, not before. Which is why I was stunned when Paul Hollywood went out of his way to show Maxy Maligisa the reason her custard wasn’t setting during The Great British Baking Show “Custard Week.”

Sure, it might have seemed like a simple gesture. Paul saw Maxy struggling to set her custard and pointed out her saucepan wasn’t hot enough. He touched it to confirm and even pointed out that she might have the wrong burner on. When Maxy insisted she did have the boiler on, Paul made a face that suggested, “You better turn it up then.” It’s a small interaction. Seemingly insignificant, but it also feels seismic. Paul Hollywood literally offered Maxy a key piece of advice. He gave her a leg up against her competition. It’s…cheating.

While we know people inherently have favorites, it’s incumbent on the judges of The Great British Baking Show to resist their own biases when it comes to their work in the tent. Otherwise, the show loses all integrity. Paul Hollywood might thought he was being nice when he helped Maxy with her custard, but he was simultaneously spitting on the sanctity of the Bake Off tent.

The Great British Baking Show‘s latest episode “Custard Week” asked the bakers to first make floating islands, aka a treat where fluffy meringue swims in a creamy liquid custard sauce, pistachio ice cream from a custard base, and finally a “Showstopper” custard cake. While the bakers had free rein to decide what type of custard cake they would make, most opted for set custard layered with sponge. To make the set custard, first they would have to whisk the custard ingredients carefully over just the right level of heat to cook, but not scramble, the eggs.

As we see throughout this episode, perfecting the consistency of the custard while balancing its flavor, is key to all three challenges. Usual top tier baker Janusz Domagala actually stumbled on his Showstopper when the judges compared the taste of his custard to glue, while Kevin Flynn was sent home for imperfectly set custard that blew Prue away taste-wise! Abdul, if I’m not mistaken, might have restarted custard twice this week?? What I’m saying is that getting your custard right was basically the point of this week so when Paul offered Maxy advice, it was a huge leg up.

So what? You might be thinking. Paul pointed out that her burner wasn’t high enough. What’s the big deal? If a baker forgets to turn on their oven to pre-heat it, they don’t get extra time. It’s their fault. This goes for the freezer, too, as we saw in this week’s technical challenge. So he offered her a tiny tip, is that uncommon? Yes! Bakers often try to pry insider knowledge from Paul in the tent and he usually gives them a smug smirk.

I want to be emphatically clear and say I don’t think Maxy is a cheater. She approached everything fair and square (and even tried to ignore Paul’s advice). Everything off-sides about the moment comes from Paul. He knows better than to interfere with a contestant’s bake. He understands he’s not supposed to give any tips in the tent. And as slight as this interaction might seem, it’s a huge infraction in The Great British Baking Show. We all should be pissed about it.