“He often acts bad cop and does that laser stare but he’s always himself, which encourages other people to be themselves, too.” Lawson added, “We complement each other. He gets straight to the point and, as you can tell, I’m a witterer. I love talking about food and sometimes can’t stop.”
And while that skill has certainly served her well, she admitted she was “apprehensive at first” to fill Leith’s shoes.
“I wasn’t sure whether I was even qualified and mindful that it was a risk, both for me and the show,” she explained. “I had a big meeting with the producers and said, ‘Look, these are the things I can’t do.’ They said, ‘That’s OK, that’s what Paul does.’”
“I didn’t want them to go to the wrong shop, as it were,” she added. “I’m not a scientist, a technician or a professional baker but what I can do is talk about food, its taste, texture and why I like it.”
Great British Bake Off season 17 premieres on the U.K.’s Channel 4 on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. BST and on Netflix in the U.S. Sept. 25. Until then, read on for more exciting TV premiere dates…
