I Have No Idea Why Ryan Reynolds Was At The Great British Bake Off Tent With Paul And Prue, But It's Delightful

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith/Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy
(Image credit: Netflix/20th Century Studios)

For some of us, life is just a series of dead periods in between episodes of The Great British Bake Off. It’s comfort viewing at its absolute finest, and if you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll take the word of Ryan Reynolds. The Deadpool star recently posted a picture of himself in front of the iconic tent with hosts Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, and it is pure joy distilled into picture form.

Why was Ryan Reynolds visiting the Great British Bake Off? There’s no indication in the photo itself or Reynolds’ post as to why this picture now exists, but the fact that it does is just perfect. If you’re a fan of the Channel 4 and Netflix US series and you’re a fan of Reynolds, then this photo is the perfect way to start your Friday right. See what I mean? Delightful. 

It could just be that Ryan Reynolds is a big fan of The Great British Bake Off and decided to use some of his celebrity cred to visit the location. It’s something a lot of us would do if we could, and this movie star certainly can. Reynolds now owns a home outside Wrexham, the town in Wales where the soccer team he owns, the recently-promoted Wrexham AFC, is located. It’s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive between Wrexham and where Bake Off is filmed, which is a bit of a drive, but it’s a lot closer than most American fans of the show are. Of course, Deadpool 3 is currently filming in the UK, so it's possible Reynolds was even closer.

One also has to wonder: Could Reynolds appear in the next season of the series? Bake Off doesn’t usually have celebrities show up in the middle of episodes, but it could still happen. Maybe one of the hosts got sick and they needed an emergency replacement. Or maybe we have it backward, and Paul and Prue are set to join the Deadpool 3 cast; now that is a movie I want to see. 

However, some answers may be found in the identity of the woman who took the picture. Reynolds’ post identifies Sofia Trevaglia as the photographer. She is Reynolds’ personal assistant on several of his films, but her LinkedIn profile lists her official position as an employee of Maximum Effort, the advertising company founded by Ryan Reynolds, which is just one of his many side hustles. 

It’s just possible that Bake Off has become an account for the firm, which could mean we could see advertisements for Bake Off in the future that were produced by Reynolds’ company, and the actor frequently appears in the ads his company creates. That would be something incredible to see.

Whatever situation led to this picture existing, and it's likely it is just a famous fan visiting the set of a show he loves, the "hug of pure serotonin" is one that you can feel just looking at it. Reynolds is clearly a fan and is just happy to be there, and even the frequently stoic Paul Hollywood actually looks star-struck. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.