Entertainment

Great British Bake Off winner Rahul could make millions, says expert

He will be ‘hoovered up by many brands’ and even has the potential to crack the US, according to publicist Mark Borkowski.
He will be ‘hoovered up by many brands’ and even has the potential to crack the US, according to publicist Mark Borkowski.

Great British Bake Off winner Rahul could make several million pounds “if he plays his cards right”, an industry expert has predicted.

Publicist and strategist Mark Borkowski said Rahul Mandal’s victory was of the “zeitgeist”.

“With Brexit and Trump, and the news full of terrible stories, there is something about this winner that epitomises what people are craving – niceness, people to be kind, genuine and authentic,” he said.

“There’s no narcissism. His win just falls into that zeitgeist.

“That cliche used in reality shows, ‘you don’t know how good you really are’, that Simon Cowell line, Rahul is that person.

He said Rahul “will be hoovered up by many brands” and could go into anything from restaurants to food lines.

“M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s would want him on board because he’s a great ambassador for kindness and care,” Mr Borkowski said.

“He’s a million-pound brand without a shadow of a doubt. If he plays his cards right he could make multi millions over years.  Brands don’t want some difficult prima donna.”

He said Rahul should get on Instagram but warned: “I think he’s too nice for Twitter. I think the trolls would chew him up. ”

As well as India “he has potential for America … he’s global”, Borkowksi said.

He added: “The problem is, with fame brings massive pressure and it will be whether or not he has the temperament and ambition to be as big as he might be. ”

Borkowski said of complaints about Rahul’s win: “That is what you’d expect. It won’t damage him.”