As The Great American Baking Show kicked off its fourth season on The Roku Channel earlier this month, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith have been sharing their thoughts on the differences between American and British bakers.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood and Leith, who also served as judges on The Great British Bake Off in the U.K., were asked whether Americans are more talented than Brits when it comes to baking under the famous big tent.
“[Americans] are not better, they’re different,” Hollywood told the outlet. “They use a lot of whisked sponge, they use a lot of banana, they use a lot of pecans. They use things that we use in the U.K., but not to the extremity [that] the Americans do. That’s the big difference. Their taste palette is a bit different from ours, but their baking is very similar.”
Leith agreed that the quantities tend to be the biggest difference between the countries, as well as the sweetness. “I think that Americans, by and large, like things to be sweeter than the Brits, and bigger. Big and sweet,” she said.
The interview took place in the summer of 2025 while the show was filming its fourth season, and Leith gave an example of the Americans’ tendency to go bigger.
“It’s been interesting today because we asked them to do a cake, which could have been a little cake, and they [all made] enormous cakes… you know, four-tier jobs,” she shared.
Leith also mentioned the American contestants tend to be louder. “They do a lot more clapping than the British,” she said, “the Americans tend to be a bit more American [and] loud.”
Back in January 2026, Leith announced she would be stepping away from the franchise after nine seasons on the U.K. edition and four on the U.S. version.
“Our wonderful Prue has decided to step away from judging Bake Off,” the show’s official Instagram page shared. “From joyful judging to colourful fits to accidental innuendoes, you are simply the best and will be so missed. Please join us in wishing Prue the very best and thanking her for nine brilliant years in the Tent.”
Leith added her own statement, describing the show as “a fabulous part of her life” for almost a decade.
“I have genuinely loved it, and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison [Hammond], and Noel [Fieldning], and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4,” she added. “But now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86 for goodness sake!), there’s so much I’d like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden. Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.”
Later that month, the show confirmed that famed British food writer and cook Nigella Lawson would be taking over Leith’s role as judge. “I was so hoping it would be Nigella! Brilliant choice,” Leith commented under an Instagram announcement about the casting.
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