Paul and Nigella sent Bake Off's finely tuned innuendo sensors off the scale: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Great British Bake Off

Published: 18:03 EDT, 29 September 2026 | Updated: 19:31 EDT, 29 September 2026 The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4) Rating:They've started. It's taken a couple of weeks but Paul and Nigella are now definitely flirting. Yes, there have been all those rumours about tension between the duo, but we misunderstood. It's sexual tension.Mr Hollywood made the first open move, but it was plain from the glee in his eye that he knew La Lawson was bound to respond. She is powerless to ignore a hint of frisson.Last week he was pretending to be impervious to her kitchen-kitten charm, displaying an aloof indifference that was almost rudeness. He struck his favourite pose, as the Sheriff of Cake on The Great British Bake Off, with his thumbs tucked over his belt, stomach sucked in – channelling Gary Cooper in High Noon, only this time it's High Tea.Rebuffed by Paul's remoteness, Nigella was obliged to go looking for compliments elsewhere. Prowling across to young baker Tom's workstation last week, she murmured, 'Looking good.' Paul and Nigella sent Bake Off's finely tuned innuendo sensors off the scale: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Great British Bake Off Danni was the first baker to be sent packing from the tent 'As are you,' he replied dutifully. That earned him a Betty Boop flutter of the eyelashes over her shoulder, a moment the producers loved so much they replayed it at the start of this week's episode.But by the time it came for picking the Star Baker, Paul had decided he wanted to join in the fun. Asked how they were going to select a winner, he grinned and said, 'Probably an arm wrestle.'Nigella thrummed with pleasure. At last he was speaking her language. 'You know I'd win,' she purred.'I know,' he said, giving the pot another stir. 'I'd let you win.'Bells clanged. Sirens blared. Klaxons wailed. The needles of Bake Off's finely tuned innuendo sensors, built to detect the slightest suggestion of hidden meanings, were now off the scale.'Listen,' growled the Domestic Goddess, 'I'm the one who lifts weights. You're just sitting around. I wouldn't pick a fight with me.' That was a deliberate challenge to his masculinity, and a professional flirt like Nigella knows there's no surer way to get a man like Paul on his mettle.None of this happened by accident. It's an education to watch her priming him. She started with a smidgeon of condescension, calling him 'darling' like he was a harmless old buffer.When Paul remarked he liked his cookies to be 'indulgent and naughty', she scolded him: 'I don't approve of talking about food as naughty. We need to take our pleasures where we can in life.' All these moments were acting as subliminal signals, working on his subconscious. But she has yet to master some of the basic techniques of the tent. In particular, it's dangerous to start speaking while still chewing. I'd never noticed before that her predecessors, Mary Berry and Prue Leith, always paused before delivering their verdicts.Nigella is so eager to get judging that she forgets to finish eating first. Simple rule: never talk with your mouth full.