GBBO's Freya Cox approached by Paul Hollywood after filming following 'difficult' time

express.co.uk:

The Great British Bake Off welcomed their first vegan baker Freya Cox to the show last year and her ways were praised by judges Paul Hollywood, 56, and Prue Leith, 82, throughout the series.The 20-year-old has said she is proud to have been an advocate for veganism on the show and even managed to change Paul's mind about baking her way.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Freya reflected on her experience in the tent last series, which was won by Giuseppe Dell'Anno.The baker admitted it was "harder" for her baking the vegan way "because the challenges are already so difficult".This however didn't stop Freya from sticking to her guns.She added: "I was so dedicated and commited to it [being vegan] because I'm the type of person that really likes to stand by my morals," she spilled."I'm never going to change that."A Place in The Sun's Jonnie Irwin, 48, diagnosed with terminal cancerFreya's time on the show came to an end during German Week when she failed to impress judges with her Upside-Down Yeast-Leavened Cake.After leaving the show, she said Paul approached her to praise her for her efforts.She revealed: "When I left, especially Paul, he was so lovely and he was like, 'Oh you've changed my opinion a lot on vegan baking' which I thought was really nice because he didn't need to say that."Despite his words, Freya doesn't believe she could convert him to veganism anytime soon. "I'm never the sort of person who is really forcing it on anybody," she explained, adding she's happy if people are just more "open-minded" about it.The show introduced a vegan week on the show for the first time back in 2018.Despite not following the plant-based lifestyle, Paul defended the show for introducing the episode.