Wondering how Nigella Lawson and Paul Hollywood will work? Mary Berry weighs in on the new judges' dynamic

Nigella Lawson taking over judging duties on Bake Off has been dominating the news, in the wake of Prue Leith announcing her departure from the long-running baking show.

However, many of the show's fans have been wondering how the dynamic will work between Nigella and existing judge, Paul Hollywood.

The queen of the original series before it migrated from the BBC to Channel 4, still has strong opinions about it - and now Dame Mary Berry has given her verdict on how well she thinks the pair will get on when they work together on the series.

Having worked with Paul when they judged together on Bake Off from the start of the show in 2010 until she decided not to follow it to Channel 4 in 2016, Mary is well placed to deliver an opinion.

In conversation with Radio Times, Mary says she believes Nigella and Paul "will get on like a house on fire."

Adding that she's "absolutely delighted" about Nigella joining the series, Mary continues that their partnership "will give Bake Off a wonderful new flavour."

In response to being asked which qualities a great Bake Off judge needs, Mary says, "The skill to be the judge and to be fair, be kind and encourage everyone to enjoy baking."

It's therefore great news that Nigella has dropped huge hints she's planning to be both kind, and will be encouraging the contestants and viewers watching at home to remain passionate about baking.

She once told Now to Love that she isn't a fan of "mean" cooking shows, sharing that she finds this judging style to be "counterproductive for everyone."

"It makes people at home feel inhibited about cooking too, because they have this persecutory voice in their heads. I couldn’t be part of a programme like that," she explains, concluding, "It doesn’t mean to say you’re not honest, but there’s never a need to be mean."

Although it hasn't been revealed whether Mary has, or is planning to speak to Nigella personally about her new role, she did have a conversation with Prue Leith when she originally joined Bake Off as a judge, allegedly offering a warning about Paul.

According to The Mirror, Prue spoke about the conversation she had with Mary during an appearance on the Spooning with Mark Wogan podcast.

Prue explained that she phoned Mary to ask her "whether Paul Hollywood was workable with," knowing Mary would "tell me the truth."

Prue says, "She was very interesting, she said 'do you know what? He is so good and he is very good at his job and he knows baking backwards, he's a lovely guy and very friendly and easy to work with'."

It's said that Mary continued, "But, he knows so much and he's so knowledgeable, he doesn't need you at all. You have to just hold your own and push yourself in because he'll just do the show without you."

We're sure Nigella will be able to hold her own in the same way as Prue did, and we can't wait to see her step into her judging shoes when the next series of Bake Off arrives.