Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood nearly wasn't allowed to use his own name in the US

The Great British Bake Off front-man Paul Hollywood almost became embroiled in a legal spat with the state of California after he faced a wave of backlash surrounding his unique name.

So much so, that the hunky chef was tempted to sue the western US state.

Just to be clear, Paul's real surname actually is Hollywood - despite many fans originally believing the jazzy moniker to have been a stage name selected by the TV star to boost his profile in the industry.

The now 58-year-old was born to dad John F. Hollywood and mum Gillian M. Hollywood - whose last name was previously Harmen.

Speaking to Rolling Stone earlier this year, Paul admitted he's often questioned over his family's name, despite it having been in his family for as long as he's aware.

"My family’s name has been around considerably longer than the Californian Hollywood," he told the publication.

"I remember I was filming and there’s a charge where if you shoot the Hollywood sign it’s $20,000 a minute or something ridiculous, and I was like, 'Hang on! That’s my family name on a mountain! You should be paying my family money!'.

Paul Hollywood claimed California had threatened him over his name (BBC)

In fact, Paul's clarification comes just a couple of years after he revealed on The Graham Norton Show that California officials attempted to stop him from using his name abroad when he was working in the States.

Speaking on the BBC talk-show back in 2016, he claimed to have received criticism from 'a huge amount of people' from across the pond.

Explaining he'd hoped to launch a show in the US, Paul told viewers: "The lawyer in London sent out this letter saying what I wanted to do and a huge amount of people from California said that I couldn't call myself Hollywood."

He went on: "So my lawyer sent back letters saying 'Paul's family name goes back 600 years and if you can prove Hollywood has been around before that he will back down, otherwise he will sue you for using his name on a sign on the side of a mountain.'"

He then jibed: "They dropped everything!"

Speaking of unexpected bombshell revelations, Paul's news comes just hours after Tyla reported on Prue Leith almost quitting the show ahead of the 2024 instalment.

Prue also claimed she was tempted not to return to the show (Channel 4)

The 84-year-old co-judge recently told press that she'd begun struggling with an intense schedule, which saw filming stretched out from April until the end of August with no weekends off.

"I was in a new house and I hardly saw the garden," she told The Mirror last month. "I hardly saw my family and I never had a summer holiday."

Thankfully, the much-loved restaurateur raised her issue with Channel 4 producers, who agreed to change the filming schedule to give her some time off.

"So, I got what I wanted, which is to do less," she explained. "I'm so grateful to Love Productions because they've been very accommodating."