Former Great British Bake Off star Prue Leith has shared her biggest regret from life – admitting that it left her feeling ‘bloody lonely’ ahead of release of new travel show co-starring her best friend
Former Bake Off judge Prue Leith has opened up about her biggest regret in life – and explained why she has been left feeling lonely in the past. The 86-year-old TV star bowed out of hosting Channel 4’s cooking show last year in order to enjoy more time away from the cameras.
But in a new interview, the South African star explained that she never made time for a huge part of life – making friends. Prue, who co-judged The Great British Bake Off from 2017 until 2025, counts a fellow Bake Off alum as a true friend but says she has precious few more.
The star enjoyed keeping herself to herself – and her husband Rayne Kruger, whom she was married to from 1974 until his death in 2002 and with whom she shared children Daniel and Li-Da, was also content in his own company. Her second husband, John Playfair, has brought more people into her life since their 2016 wedding.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, Prue admitted she had regretted not making more effort to build friendships, saying she had felt lonely in the past. She revealed to the publication that former Bake Off host Sandi Toksvig and her wife are some of her few friends.
Describing Danish star Sandi as a friend who “you could call at two in the morning, and she’d be there for you”, she added: “It’s Sandi. And now Debbie, her wife. I’ve been very bad at friendship.”
She added: “I never thought it was important. If someone had said, ‘You don’t have any friends,’ I’d have said, ‘What do we need friends for?’ It didn’t occur to me it was unwise.”
The Daily Mail also quotes her opening up about her loving first marriage – and how that limited her desire to build a friendship group. She said: “I had a very happy first marriage, but when your husband is your best friend you tend to neglect all that. Rayne was very reclusive too.
“He didn’t need friends, and I was perfectly happy with that. I was working in London in the week, coming home on a Thursday, and when I did I was quite happy to have scrambled eggs with the children. I didn’t want to see anyone else because I was tired from work. Later, I regretted that. When Rayne died, I was bloody lonely. I didn’t have friends, didn’t even know my neighbours. It never occurred to me at the time.”
She went on to explain that her second husband, John, has “all the friends” and that she has grown close to many of them – joking, “if he pops his clogs I’ll still have friends.”
Prue’s comments come after she recently admitted that one of the reasons she stepped away from Bake Off was that she felt she was “running out of time”. She shared her frustration that Bake Off took over her summer months, impacting her ability to enjoy time in the sun with her loved ones.
She told Woman Magazine: “You can’t be 86 without thinking about death a bit. I realised that I would never have a summer holiday in Europe again. Two years ago, I told them I was going to leave, and they asked why, and I said because I want a holiday in the summer.”
Since quitting Bake Off, she has re-teamed with Sandi for a new travel series called Prue & Sandi’s South African Adventure. The duo are joined by a camera team while they explore Prue’s native South Africa.
The series is due to begin on Tuesday, November 24 on Channel 4. The six-part show will see the pair explore Cape Town, travel to the top of Table Mountain, and confront uncomfortable historical truths relating to Apartheid.
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