The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood has said he was “horrified” after co-judge Prue Leith accidentally revealed the winner of this year’s series.

Leith, 77, put out the name of the winning amateur baker on Twitter on Tuesday morning while in a different time zone, hours before the finale.

Asked what he made of the mix-up on Channel 4’s spin-off show An Extra Slice, Hollywood said: “What do you say? I was horrified… she’s made a mistake.”

Prue Leith's tweet (Prue Leith)
Prue Leith’s tweet (Prue Leith)

“She was in the Himalayas apparently,” he added.

Leith deleted the tweet minutes after it was posted and later expressed sorrow.

The judge had tweeted: “No-one told me judging a GBBO final would be so emotional. I wanted them all to win. Bravo Sophie.”

After her error became clear, an upset-sounding Leith told the Press Association she was in “a state”.

Speaking from Bhutan – which is six hours ahead of the UK – she said: “The time difference is massive. I thought that they got it six hours ago.

“I’m in too much of a state to talk about it. It was a mistake. I f***** up.”

She later tweeted: “I am so sorry to the fans of the show for my mistake this morning, I am in a different time zone and mortified by my error.”