"PAUL Hollywood loved Grimsby!"
That was the verdict of Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle, who joined "the male judge" on stage as a special guest for the first half of his show at the Grimsby Auditorium.
The packed house – which was mainly made up of local ladies – enjoyed a mix of cookery demonstrations, anecdotes and the chance to pick the cookery legend's brain.
Among the delicious creations the audience will no doubt be trying out on their family and friends this weekend, was a baked brie with cranberries and Parma Ham – described by all those who were lucky enough to have a taste as "amazing".
He also made a festive chocolate roulade – assisted by the lovely Nancy – a batch of mince pies and, of course, a loaf of bread.
And every audience member was given the recipes in a special A4 booklet.
Four lucky audience members were also set an on-stage challenge, when they were asked to shape pre-made dough into a perfect plait.
Nancy said: "He demonstrated first and then they had to get up and do it. It was very interactive.
Nancy said she had been very impressed with the whole show – and that the audience had seemed equally delighted with the star's appearance.
She said: "I was just going to be in the audience, but then he contacted me and asked me if I would go on stage with him for the first half of the show.
"Because he wanted me as a surprise guest, I didn't come out of the audience, I was backstage the whole time.
"I arrived early and he pulled me on stage after about five minutes.
"He didn't tell me what he was planning to do, but that made it better. It was more spontaneous.
Nancy said she had heard that his previous shows did not contain any baking demonstrations, so she was pleasantly surprised to find this one did.
She said: "It's a very good act. I thought it was great. He loved Grimsby. The audience was brilliant and he was very good.
"At the end, there were people waiting by the stage door for him, so he could sign their books. In fact, I think his books sold out."
Grimsby head teacher Liz Jeffery and her husband Simon were among the audience.
She said: "I really enjoyed the evening – he just makes everything seem so easy!
"I did feel a bit sorry for my husband at the start, as he was one of the few men in the audience but, by the end, Paul's wonderful creations had even inspired him to want to have a go at Christmas baking."
