Paul Hollywood breaks his silence about the Bake Off split and says 'Mary gave me her blessing' and told him: 'I would if I was your age' as he reveals backlash from fans was like he had 'murdered somebody'

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Revealed: Paul Hollywood, pictured today, has said Mary Berry gave her blessing to move with Bake Off to Channel 4 and said it was her age that put her off the move

Paul Hollywood today said Mary Berry gave him her blessing to move with Bake Off to Channel 4 and told him: 'I would go too if I was your age'.

The master baker, 50, has spoken out for the first time about splitting with Mary, and revealed that it was being 81, not her loyalty to the BBC, that stopped her going too.

He also revealed the vitriolic abuse from a hardcore of Bake Off fans was like he had 'murdered somebody' but said it would never put him off moving to a rival.

Speaking at the Good Food Show at Olympia in west London he said: 'I spoke to Mary (Berry) about it (decision to leave) all the way through and she said "I would go too if I was your age".'

Paul also revealed the Channel 4 version, which cost them £75million, will have 'the same tent, the same crew and the same challenges'.

Paul will be paid around £1.2million over three years to be the show's main judge on Channel 4.

This £400,000-a-year salary is £300,000 more than he reportedly got at the BBC.  

Vitriol: Paul also told the crowd that the abuse he had received was like he had 'murdered somebody' - one former contestant said he was a ‘peacocking manchild lingering wherever the money is’

Bake Off winner Candice Brown with judge Mary Berry, who apparently told Paul: 'I would go too if I was your age.'

But he revealed today it was purely a business decision and told fans at the the Aldi Supertheatre at the BBC Good Food Show: 'I have got no direct contact with the BBC. At the end of the day it is all done through the production company. That is where it is all decided. I was so lucky to get that job in the first place. I feel a huge sense of loyalty to the tent and the crew'.

Mary Berry, pictured this week, is said to have spoken to Paul 'all the way through' before he left her behind and chose to move to Channel 4

Whilst Paul Hollywood has signed up to stay with the show, he will be without fellow judge Mary Berry and hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, who said they wished to remain loyal to the BBC. 

In a statement announcing her decision to quit the show, Miss Berry said: ‘My decision to stay with the BBC is out of loyalty to them, as they have nurtured me, and the show, that was a unique and brilliant format from day one. I am just sad for the audience who may not be ready for change, I hope they understand my decision.’

Miss Berry has since been given her own BBC One programme Secrets From Britain’s Great Houses, set to air in 2017. In it she will explore the culinary histories of stately homes and produce her own recipes.

She will also appear in the first of two 60-minute episodes of James Martin’s Christmas with Friends on Monday.

Paul has kept a low profile since his decision to move with the show when hosts Mel and Sue said they were 'not going with the dough'.

He said:  'Chapter one is finished but the second chapter is about to begin. I can't really say too much but none of us were involved in the negotiations. You have the production company and then you have the channel. I always work for the production company.

'For the new series we will have the same tent, the same crew and the same challenges. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. There's a few names being mentioned (for fellow judges) I don't know'.

Hollywood was accused of being ‘greedy’ and driven by ‘money and fame’ as he announced he would stay on as a judge when the show moves to Channel 4.

In September former runner up Ruby Tandoh also launched a blistering attack on the baker, labelling him a ‘peacocking manchild lingering wherever the money is’. 

Today he responded by saying some of the abuse he received was like he had 'murdered somebody'.

He said: 'It is crazy the coverage we had (on end of the show) and the way the press were covering it. 

'I didn't think it was, what's the word, correct. I think I would have been in the press more if I had murdered somebody and ultimately I am just a judge on a baking show. There is a lot of fiction out there. I have not said anything to anyone. No matter what I said it was going to happen anyway'.

Speaking out: The baker, who gave a demonstration in London today, pictured, has spoken out for the first time

Three out of the four stars from The Great British Bake Off won't be going with the show to channel 4 (pictured this year's contestants) - Only Paul and the tent are moving

The show left the BBC at the height of its popularity - with some saying Channel 4 paid £75m for the name and a tent.

Format: Paul also revealed the Channel 4 version, which cost them £75million, will have 'the same tent, the same crew and the same challenges'

The final of the Great British Bake Off earlier this month was the most-watched television programme since 2012, with just under 16million people tuning in to the BBC's swansong episode. 

New figures show that almost a quarter of the UK population watched glamorous PE teacher Candice Brown crowned champion, when catch-up figures were added to the overnight audience.

The audience is the largest for any TV programme since the London 2012 Olympics, when a record 24.5million people watched the closing ceremony. 

The immense popularity of the final and the series as a whole will be bittersweet for the BBC, as it shows just how important it was for the Corporation.

Every episode in the most recent series drew more than 13million viewers, and the final attracted 850,000 more people than in 2015, when Nadiya Hussain won.

There are still two Christmas instalments to come, and these are likely to draw record audiences for these special episodes.

Yet from next year the show will move to Channel 4, which is thought to have paid £75million for a three-year contract of the show and is under significant pressure from fans to make a success of the show.

Its most-watched programme so far this year – an episode of Gogglebox in February - drew a third of the audience for the Bake Off final, with 5.8million viewers.

And the channel has not broken the 10 million mark since 2002.