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For Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood whipping up a loaf of almond sourdough is likely a piece of cake, but his journey to baking superstardom has been 40 years in the making.
Beginning his sensational journey as a lowly junior in his dad’s bakery, Hollywood carved his very own path, becoming the mastermind behind the £12 million cookery empire.
Recently, the steely-eyed judge, 58, revealed his company finances which showed just how far he has come since he first fired up ovens as a teenager.
A far cry from the early shifts at the family bakery, Hollywood’s companies HJP Media London Limited, HJP Media LLP as well as Paul Hollywood Limited were worth £10.6 million, £9.8million and £1.2 million respectively.
But his astounding success didn’t emerge overnight – it is the culmination of 40 years of work building the Paul Hollywood brand – largely outside of the public gaze.
Paul Hollywood’s journey to bakery superstardom and a £12 million fortune has been 40 years in the making (pictured: Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood)
His astonishing success has allowed him to lead quite the luxurious lifestyle including building quite the motoring portfolio
Set in eight acres of lush Kent countryside, Hollywood lives in the lap of luxury in his Kent home 18th century, four-bedroom property described as one of the best in the area – for £810,000
His fortune allows the TV star and his family to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle which includes, a country home in 12 acres of land, a mega car and motorbike collection, alpine ski holidays and a holiday getaway in sun-soaked Cyprus.
But life wasn’t always sun, sea and country homes for Hollywood, who recalls his mother barely having enough to buy him sweets at the age of 10 after she split from his dad.
‘It was rough. On a Saturday I’d ask for a quarter of sherbet lemons and of course she’d say yes,’ he said.
‘Then I’d go to her purse and she’d only have a few coins. She still let me have them. But you’re a kid – that affects you.’
As a teenager in Merseyside during the recession-racked eighties, Hollywood had two options – go on benefits or take on a gruelling shifts at his family’s bakery.
had a choice of going on the dole or getting a job in the family bakery business which meant going to bed at 6pm for 2am starts.
He opted for the difficult 2am starts and long-shift at the appropriately titled chain Bread Winner – and immediately fell in love with baking.
‘The Eighties were difficult for everybody, everyone was on the dole. So you needed a trade to get some money – it was hard, being young,’ he said.
‘Getting a trade was always a bonus, whether you were a plumber, a bricky or whatever, and I ended up being a baker.
He currently lives in his £1 million countryside pad with his current partner and former friend, Melissa Spalding
Among his 14-strong bike collection, he as owned a Panigale 1199 S and a Kawasaki H2s at varying points
The 18th century, four-bedroom property has previously been described as one of the best in the area – for £810,000
‘It was a skill I had to learn, but I did pick it up fairly quickly.’
When the nineties rolled around Hollywood had completed his baker’s apprenticeship and landed some high profile jobs on some of the country’s best known hotels.
From Cliveden House to the Chester Grosvenor, the star baker graced several prestigious kitchens before becoming head chef at the Dorchester in Mayfair.
His connections to some of the the country’s biggest hospitality brands led to more doors opening for his media career – and in 2003 after a spell working in a five star Cyprus Hotel where he met his wife, Alex.
Legend has it he contacted an agent and soon he started to get a steady stream of TV work, beginning with a show called Taste, alongside fellow-budding TV chef James Martin, now Godfather to his son Josh, and appearances on Saturday Kitchen offering baking recipes and tips.
It was during this spell finding his feet in the media world that he first met Mary Berry, several years before they would eventually establish GBBO as a national treasure.
‘Who would have thought that a rough fella from Liverpool and Lady Berry would make such a successful partnership,’ he said.
‘We also had no idea when we were asked to do the show that we were about to embark on something that would become so popular.’
Great British Bake Off took the UK by storm and was syndicated around the world helping to elevate Hollywood’s profile and establish him as a major star.
As a teenager (pictured) in Merseyside during the recession-racked eighties Hollywood he first made the decision to take on the gruelling shifts at his family bakery which would eventually lead to a multi-million pound empire
He has come a long way working from working at his family bakery, from gracing kitchens at Cliveden House to the Chester Grosvenor to becoming head chef at The Dorchester (pictured)
After a spell working at five-star Cyprus Hotel in 2003, he met his now ex-wife Alexandra (pictured in 2015)
As he continued to work in five -star restaurants his media career boomed before he eventually joined the Great British Bake Off
He told one interviewer he was recognised in Alabama in the deep south of the USA, Brazil and Japan.
It launched numerous spin off shows and a burgeoning career as an author and he now has more than 10 books to his name.
In 2017 Great British Bake Off makers Love Productions were lured from BBC to Channel 4 and Hollywood stuck with the show despite the departure of fellow presenters Mary Berry, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.
It meant his earnings rose, his tour British Baking Live tour sold out and he hung out with millionaires like Pink Floyd legend Nick Mason, TV presenter and biker Charley Boorman, and multiple superbike champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne.
As part of the lifestyle he was able to indulge his love of racing cars and motorbikes and now cycling and scuba diving.
At various points he has owned a £60,000 B200 Benetton race car once raced by Austrian star Alexander Wurz in 2000, and had a Panigale 1199 S and a Kawasaki H2s as part of his 14-strong bike collection
A source close to the professional baker said he had always been obsessed by cars and bikes: ‘He had four cars and a Formula One car which was being built.’
He has also owned a £225,000 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and £100,000 Range Rover.
But Hollywood has also taken his private pilot’s licence after being inspired by taking seven £3,000-a-time tourist trips in a Spitfire over the farmland where the Battle of Britain took place.
Hollywood divorced wife Alex in 2017 and began a high profile romance with barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam.
But after their acrimonious split he got together with old friend Melissa Spalding, who runs his local pub.
The couple have now settled down and the pair live in a sprawling £1 million country home set in 12 acres, near Ashford in Kent.
He then had a relationship with barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam following his split with wife Alex (pictured)
The show took the UK by storm, and was syndicated meaning Hollywood could introduce his steel-eyed brand to the world (pictured: Hollywood, Noel Fielding, Matt Lucas and Prue Leith)
He is currently planning to expand the home with an extended kitchen and dining room with space for filming and entertaining. He also owns a luxury bolthole in Cyprus.
His salary GBBO salary is now put at £400,000 but he earns hundreds of thousands more through other TV shows, live appearances, books and endorsements and has recently secured a six figure deal to be the voice of Compare the Market.
When it was once put to him that he was worth £10m Hollywood replied: ‘That’s about £9.5 million wide of the mark.
‘People think you’re wealthy because you’re on TV but you’d be surprised by the money I earned on Bake Off in the early years.’
But after 14 years as a household name, the £10 million figure is woefully understating his true worth.
As he said it is way off the mark, but as we now know it is more than £21 million.
