A past winner of The Great British Bake Off opened up about how much contestants are paid to participate - and the hidden costs that viewers never hear about.

Matty Edgell won series 14 of the much-loved show, which aired on screens in late 2023.

Almost three years on, the winning baker, 30, revealed behind-the-scenes details including how much contestants receive for their time.

He told Lottoland: 'You get £300 for every show that you're on.

'You don't get any prize money for winning. You get the bouquet of flowers and the cake stand. No money.'

Matty also shared that those taking part 'get paid travel as well', in addition to the aforementioned £300.

He also revealed how much participants actually get to cover the costs of their bakes - and how this can be easily used up.

Matty said: 'You get sent between £1,200 and £1,500. And that's your money to spend on ingredients and to practice your bakes.'

'Sometimes you've got to go to Waitrose because you need it, but Aldi essentials are pretty fine as well.'

'If you spend it wisely, you can have a fair bit of money at the end of it. If you go spending it in, like, posh shops, then it gets swallowed quickly.'

'If you think about Chocolate Week, certainly at the moment chocolate's so expensive and the amount that you need, so that week eats up a lot of your budget.'

'But Bread Week - flour, yeast and water - that's dirt cheap.'

Elsewhere, new Bake Off judge Nigella Lawson left fans in stitches with a cheeky post as she smouldered in a selfie with Paul Hollywood.

The chef, 66 - who took on the role of new judge on Great British Bake Off for series 17 - took to her Instagram to share a hilarious April Fools joke with her 3.1 million followers.

Nigella posed up a storm next to her fellow judge Paul, 60, in a stunning selfie to joke that the much-loved Channel 4 show is all a sham, and it is in fact a cover for a secret project that they are working on.

She looked amazing in a white blazer, smokey eyes and loose waves in her hair, while Paul rocked a white shirt and black jacket in the picture.

'AN ANNOUNCEMENT: I know you were lead to believe that I would be joining @paul.hollywood on @britishbakeoff but, as you can clearly see, we are in fact a hard-bitten, seen-it-all detective (PH) and a lugubrious forensic pathologist (NL) solving crimes in the Ruhr Valley,' Nigella wrote in the caption.

'My hair and make up by @triciamakeupartist; Paul’s his own!'

Many fans rushed to the comments section to share how much they loved the post.

'A bake-off-based detective show would be the cosy crime event of the century.'

'Fantastic!'

'April 1st? How I wish this was true.'

'I would watch that!'

Another simply added three laughing emojis.

The much-loved baking competition first hit our screens in 2010, initially being shown on the BBC.

Paul has been a judge on the show since it started 16 years ago, and he was originally joined by Mary Berry until 2016.

In 2017, Prue Leith joined the team when the show moved to Channel 4.

But back in January it was confirmed that Nigella would be the next Great British Bake Off judge following Prue announcing she was stepping down after nine years.

The TV chef, who will join Paul Hollywood when the Channel 4 show's new series begins filming in April ahead of airing later this year, said she was 'bubbling with excitement' to get started.

Nigella admitted being daunted by the big shoes she had to fill, following two 'great dames' in Prue and original judge Dame Mary Berry.

She said in a statement: 'I'm uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now. Of course it's daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I'm also bubbling with excitement.

'The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it's a National Treasure – and it's a huge honour to be entrusted with it.'

Before adding: 'I'm just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity!'

The Great British Bake Off airs on Channel 4.