Prue Leith’s reaction to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds visiting the Bake Off set

‘We got really friendly,’ the TV presenters says about the Hollywood couple

Amber Raiken
New York
Friday 10 November 2023 13:37 EST
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Related: The Great American Baking Show: Celebrity Holiday

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Prue Leith shared some amusing details about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ visit to the set of Great British Bake Off.

The 83-year-old TV presenter – who is a judge on the baking show alongside Paul Hollywood – opened up about seeing the famous couple during an interview with E! News. Reynolds and Lively first visited the two judges in June, who posed with the Deadpool star outside of the iconic Bake Off tent.

Leith revealed that the actors’ visit wasn’t planned, recalling that it came after Reynolds realised that he was filming at the same studio as the baking show.

“Blake is absolutely nuts about—well they both are, they’re both very keen on Bake Off,” she said. “When they heard we were filming in the same studio lot as Ryan was, he was making Deadpool, and so they both just turned up.”

Leith said the visit was “so funny,” since usually, visitors aren’t necessarily allowed to be inside the tent.

"Everybody keeps everybody out of the tent, you know. No strangers are allowed in the tent, absolutely, rule number one. I mean if my husband walked in without having cleared it all first he’d be just shown the door,” Leith quipped.

However, she acknowledged that when the Green Lantern star and Gossip Girl star walked into the set, her co-workers were shocked, before welcoming them in with open arms.

“But I’ll tell you what, when those two walked in, every cameraman, everybody, just stood there,” she added. “And of course we were absolutely thrilled to see them. All filming stopped while we all chatted to them.”

She revealed when she was working in the studio at the same time as the Hollywood couple, she met with them on multiple occasions.

“​​Because we were there at the same time as they were, you know, weeks on end, we got really friendly. So they came in a lot,” Leith added.

The TV presenter highlighted how her and co-star’s friendship with the couple developed, as Hollywood did a commercial with Lively earlier this year for her newest alcohol brand, Betty Booze. In the advertisement, the Age of Adaline star even hilariously attempted – and failed – to get one of Hollywood’s signature handshakes.

Speaking to E! News, Leith poked fun at that commercial, while expressing how much she’d loved the chance to work with Lively’s husband.

“I was rather disappointed because I thought, you know, I’d do anything to do a commercial with Ryan," she quipped. “And [Paul] managed to do a commercial with Blake.”

In June, Hollywood first went viral when he shared a post to Instagram of himself, Reynolds, and Leith, as they stood outside of the Bake Off tent. “Prue and I catching up with @vancityreynolds,” he wrote in the caption. “#legend.”

He later shared a snap of himself and Lively in the tent, alongside a caption that quipped: “Sorry Prue, Blake (@blakelively) has taken your seat… welcome to cake corner Blake.”

In the Betty Booze commercial, which aired in August, Lively hilariously and unexpectedly arrived at Hollywood’s home, with a case of Betty Booze cocktails in her hands. The ad continued with Hollywood giving his candid review of the drinks, saying: “I really like it. It is absolutely beautiful. I think really good.”

After he praised the flavours in the drink, he reached his hand towards Lively - seemingly in an effort to shake her hand. While she then started to reach her hand towards his, she soon realised that Hollywood was actually just grabbing another can of Betty Booze.

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