Bury St Edmunds dessert shop Crumbs’ April Fools’ Day joke involving Paul Hollywood goes down a treat

It wasn’t quite the icing on the cake that hundreds of social media users thought it was.

Residents of Bury St Edmunds were left in a frenzy after celebrity baker Paul Hollywood was allegedly spotted at a popular dessert shop yesterday.

A Facebook and Instagram post showed the Great British Bake Off host stopping by Crumbs, in The Traverse, as part of an April Fools’ Day prank organised by owner Ben Hutton.

Many users immediately saw through the photoshopped image of Mr Hollywood, while others fell for the joke.

Ben said: “We got quite a few messages in response to the post and it appeared to have generated a lot of interest. Some posted laughing emojis while others pointed out the joke, but about half fell for it.

“As we’re a bakery, selecting Paul Hollywood – as a host of The Great British Bake Off – felt like the right person at the right time to rope people into the joke. We hoped to tag him on the Instagram post, but unfortunately, he had those disabled.

“We had a few people saying ‘I don’t know you, so why would Paul Hollywood?’ but overall the response was very positive. Many who were fooled took it really well and people I’ve spoken to thought it was hilarious.

“I don’t blame the people who fell for it as some members of my own family thought the post was serious.”

This was the first time Crumbs organised an April Fools’ post, Ben said. Only himself and a few of his staff knew the post would be made.

As the business is shut on Mondays, Ben was unsure if anyone turned up to the shop to see if Mr Hollywood was present.

Crumbs relocated to The Traverse in December, having previously called High Baxter Street home.

Ben also runs Queen’s Bar and Grill, in Churchgate Street.