Kemper and Zach Cherry spoke to ET about co-hosting the baking competition, which sees Americans entering the iconic tent.
After starring on The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ellie Kemper is returning to TV as the co-host of The Great American Baking Show, the Roku Channel's revived spinoff of the British baking competition. Ahead of the new season's debut, Kemper spoke to ET about stepping into the famed tent and getting to work with longtime judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, who left a particularly notable impression on her.
When asked who was more intimidating in person, Kemper revealed that it was the fashionable restaurateur. "I honestly find it to be Prue because she is a lady. And she has, like, the authority and the grace and the presence of someone [important]," she said. "I was expecting Paul to be the more intimidating one 'cause he's Paul Hollywood and his mean stares and all that stuff. But no, to me, I sat up straight when Prue walked in."
Echoing that sentiment, Kemper's co-host, Zach Cherry, explained, "It does feel a bit like you're entering a scene in Prue's movie when you walk into a room with her. She's very in her element at all times."
That said, Kemper admitted that both judges "couldn't have been more welcoming and kind," even if there were some disagreements over what constitutes a proper deep dish pizza. "I remember there being some confusion over deep dish pizza," she shared, explaining that "maybe Paul and Pru weren't as familiar" with the Chicago take on the Italian dish.
In fact, Cherry went so far as to suggest there was "controversy over what qualified as deep dish," before correcting himself. "Not controversy, but hubbub," he said before Kemper jumped in. "Yeah, let's clarify. There was a hubbub."
If anything, the real drama was whether or not the Americans would live up to all the British contestants that have graced the tent in years past. "My greatest worry was just that we would disappoint Paul and Prue as a country, with our baking prowess," Kemper said. "But, we as Americans, I feel like this team of bakers really brought it."
And when it came to the nine contestants -- Martin Sorge, Nirali Chauhan, Stacie Nakamoto, Dyana O'Brien, Susan Simpson, Karis Stucker, Jonathan Gottfried, Sarah Chang and Sean Liu -- who got to try out their bakes in the tent, Kemper said that "they were just, like, collected and unflappable."
If anything, "I felt more stressed than they did," said Cherry, who, along with Kemper, found himself having to adjust to the elements that came with being outdoors. "A bird flew in at one point," he said.
"There were bees everywhere. A lot of bees," Kemper said of the unexpected interactions with all the creatures roaming about, before joking, "And we're not just talking about Paul." And speaking of Hollywood, the host revealed that "there were some handshakes" handed out this season. "You have to watch to find out who," she teased.
The new season of The Great American Baking Show premieres Friday, May 5 on The Roku Channel.
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