Paul Hollywood has revealed that his pal Blake Lively ‘has been texting him’ as her Justin Baldoni lawsuit rumbles on.

The Great British Bake Off judge, 58, formed an unlikely friendship with the Hollywood star Blake, 37, last year after she revealed her and husband Ryan Reynolds were fans of the show.

Speaking to The Times on Tuesday, Paul opened up about his bond with the actress as he said: ‘I’ve got a lot of time for Blake.

‘She texts occasionally, sort of to catch up on what she’s been up to, what Ryan’s up to, and it’s lovely, because regardless of their job, they’re just a normal family, mum and dad to some great kids. They’re really nice people.’

He also name-dropped other celebrity Bake Off fans, revealing that Hugh Jackman, Michael J Fox and Lynda Carter have all come out and said they love the show.

Kylie Jenner also recently shared a video of herself watching Bake Off on the plane as she revealed it was her favourite show – however Paul admitted he had no idea who she was.

Paul Hollywood revealed to The Times on Tuesday that his pal Blake Lively ‘has been texting him’ as her Justin Baldoni lawsuit rumbles on

The Great British Bake Off judge, 58, formed an unlikely friendship with the Hollywood star Blake, 37, last year after she revealed her and Ryan were fans of the show

Paul’s confession about his text exchanges with Blake come after the actress filed a legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin alleging he 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually harassed her on the set of their film before orchestrating a smear campaign against her with his publicists after she complained about his alleged behaviour. He is said to be in the process of preparing a countersuit.

Sparking up a friendship in June of last year, self-proclaimed Bake Off superfans Blake and Ryan, 48, posed for snaps with judges Paul and Prue Leith during a trip to the UK.

Blake cosied up to Paul in a photo shared to his Instagram, with Paul even joking that she should replace his co-judge Prue, 84.

He captioned his post writing: ‘Sorry Prue, Blake (@blakelively) has taken your seat… welcome to cake corner Blake #legendinthetent #getbaking’

The Gossip Girl star looked radiant in a black and white polka dot dress as she beamed to the camera while affectionately touching Paul’s arm – with fans hoping Paul’s joke was true.

But husband Ryan needn’t be jealous as he too posed with Bake Off stars Paul and Prue.

The Deadpool star and self proclaimed fan of the series, beamed in the photo as fans begged him to guest host the show.

Ryan captioned the Instagram snap: ‘A full and unconditional hug of pure serotonin’.

Paul’s confession about his text exchanges with Blake come after the actress filed a legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin alleging he 𝓈ℯ𝓍ually harassed her on the set of their film before orchestrating a smear campaign against her with his publicists after she complained about his alleged behaviour

The Deadpool star and self proclaimed fan of the series, beamed in a photo as fans begged him to guest host the show

Just two months later, Blake and Paul reunited as they both appeared in an amusing advert for her alcoholic drinks brand Betty Booze

The actress roped in the Great British Bake Off judge to be the face of her high-end bourbon and tequila cocktails, after becoming unlikely friends

Blake joked that she had ‘finally made it in Hollywood’ as she showed herself to be an avid Great British Bake Off fan with the skit

Just two months later, Blake and Paul reunited as they both appeared in an amusing advert for her alcoholic drinks brand Betty Booze.

The actress roped in the Great British Bake Off judge to be the face of her high-end bourbon and tequila cocktails, after becoming unlikely friends.

And Blake took to Instagram to share the latest advert for her brand Betty Booze featuring none other than celebrity chef Paul.

Blake joked that she had ‘finally made it in Hollywood’ as she showed herself to be an avid Great British Bake Off fan with the skit.

The video kicked off with Blake arriving at Paul’s house carrying boxes of her cocktail cans, desperate to get the Bake Off judges approval on her product.

A surprised Paul opened the door and uncertainly said: ‘Hello Blake! Nice to see you again… at my home.’

To which Blake replied: ‘Don’t mention it. Here we go, Betty Booze, which I just launched using all of my own recipes, and I would love your professional opinion, if you don’t mind.’

Cracking open one of the drinks as Blake put more boxes in his fridge in the kitchen, Paul referenced the fact that Blake doesn’t drink but has created cocktail cans as he asked: ‘I thought you don’t drink alcohol.’

Putting on his serious judging face, Paul mimicked his own Bake Off judging tactics as he declared: ‘I really like it, it is absolutely beautiful, really good. The tang, the balance with the ginger, it’s spot on’

An amusing moment then saw Blake’s face light up as Paul leant towards her with his hand outstretched, as she thought she would get a rare Paul Hollywood handshake – but as she moved her hand out to take Paul’s, he simply reached behind her to grab another drink, saying: ‘It’s so easy, to grab and go!’

To which Blake jokingly replied: ‘Oh I don’t drink alcohol, I eat it. Bourbon and whipped cream, sherry vinaigrette. Really hard pressed to find anything I cook without alcohol. Do you like it?’

Putting on his serious judging face, Paul mimicked his own Bake Off judging tactics as he declared: ‘I really like it, it is absolutely beautiful, really good. The tang, the balance with the ginger, it’s spot on.’

A thrilled Blake asked: ‘Really?’, to which Paul replied: ‘Yeah.’

An amusing moment then saw Blake’s face light up as Paul leant towards her with his hand outstretched, as she thought she would get a rare Paul Hollywood handshake.

But as she moved her hand out to take Paul’s, he simply reached behind her to grab another drink, saying: ‘It’s so easy, to grab and go!’

The amusing skit came to an end with a red-faced Blake left awkwardly scratching her head at her faux pas, as she missed out on his highest level of praise.

The clip ended with Blake saying: ‘Try new Betty Booze, or I’ll come over and make you try them.’