Great British Bake Off 2017: Is Paul Hollywood handing out too many handshakes?

Has the quality risen? Or has Hollywood gone soft?

The Great British Bake Off's move to Channel 4 has seen change, and also a distinct lack of it.

Pudding week saw both the likes of the show's historical segments and staggered timing during the technical challenge return without even a blink, as if the show had never made an earth-shattering transition everyone assumed would doom it to the fires of hell.

That said, there's been one development particularly troubling to fans: why is Paul Hollywood giving out so many handshakes? The judge gave out three in episode 5 merely for the signature round alone, which required competitors to create the perfectly textured, streamed school pudding.

Was the standard really that high? Or is Hollywood getting soft? "Three handshakes. That’s a personal best for you," Noel Fielding wryly commented.

Of course, the Hollywood Handshake used to be a thing of rare beauty, capable of reducing any eager contestant to tears. It wasn't just a handshake, it was a blessing from the pudding gods. Back in 2015, contestant Tamal Ray even described the handshake as something he would "never forget".

Bake Off airs every Tuesday on Channel 4 at 8pm.