Dame Prue Leith announced last month that she would be leaving The Great British Bake Off after nine years, with Nigella Lawson set to take over her judging role
Former The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has shared her thoughts on being succeeded by Nigella Lawson on the Channel 4 programme. The 86-year-old announced her departure from the show last month, after nine years of critiquing amateur bakers’ efforts alongside Paul Hollywood.
In a heartfelt statement at the time, she said: “Now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86, for goodness’ sake! ). There’s so much I’d like to do – not least spend summers enjoying my garden.
“Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.”
It was subsequently announced that Nigella will join the judging panel, with filming kicking off this summer.
Speaking about her exit on Scott Mills’ BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Friday, Prue looked back warmly on her stint with the series.
“Nine years is enough. I liked it, and I like the guys on it, I will miss it,” she told Scott, alongside Beverley Knight and Jack Whitehall.
“It’s a great company, and who wouldn’t like the job when all you do is eat cake? Perfect.”
Discussing what prompted her decision, she said the filming timetable had started to restrict her personal life.
“I’m running out of time, I need more time to do stuff, especially having holidays in the summer, because we always film Bake Off through the summer,” she explained.
“I’ve had a lot of winter holidays in the southern hemisphere, but I suddenly thought, ‘I’ll never go to the South of France again’. I’ll never be able to have a holiday in Spain. So I just took the plunge.”
Prue went on to say she had “dithered” over the choice for two years before ultimately walking away.
When discussing Nigella taking over from her, she was effusive in her praise.
“They’ve got Nigella, so they’re fine. She is so good, she’ll be wonderful,” she said.
After her fellow studio guests suggested she would be deeply missed, Prue jokingly remarked that she would be forgotten swiftly.
“No you won’t, you’ll fall in love with Nigella instantly, she’s so clever,” she added.
Nigella, 66, has admitted she feels “a teeny bit frightened” about joining the long-running programme, which also stars Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond as presenters.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she admitted during a recent appearance on This Morning.
“Prue is just fantastic, and Mary Berry was great before, and that’s when I get really frightened.”
Nevertheless, she described the opportunity as “an honour” adding: “I just want to do it as well as I can.”
Regarding how she’ll work alongside Paul on the panel, Nigella suggested her approach will contrast with his notoriously rigorous standards.
“I am a person who isn’t looking for fault, I’m looking for pleasure,” she said. “Paul is the technical, I’ll be all about the eating.”
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