Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has quit the Channel 4 show after nine years. Prue, who took over from Dame Mary Berry, has shared a statement to explain her decision
Dame Prue Leith has quit The Great British Bake Off after nine years as a judge. The beloved judge, who joined the show in 2017 after Mary Berry quit, announced her exit in a statement today.
The 85 year old, who judges the baker’s creations alongside Paul Hollywood – who has been on the show since in began – is a fan favourite but is now looking forward to some time off, and plans to spend her summer in her garden instead of the sweltering Bake Off tent.
Prue posted photos of her time on the show, which included a snap of herself and Paul as well as a photo of Prue and Paul posing with hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding on her Instagram to share the news. She then wrote in the caption: “After nine series and judging more than 400 challenges, I have decided to step down as a judge on The Great British Bake Off.
“Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years, I have genuinely loved it and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison and Noel and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4. But 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,” she penned as she ended the announcement. The news was met with well-wishes from fans as one wrote: “Ahhh sorry to miss you Prue! Thanks for all the love”.
Another added: “You will be so missed Prue, but you deserve that garden time. Thank you for all the smiles”, followed by a red heart emoji. “We will miss you thank you for all the years ! ! ! ,” a third said as a a fourth wrote: “You were fantastic on GBBO, you will be sorely missed. “
While Love Productions, who produce the hit show, added: “Huge thanks to Prue who has been a brilliant judge on Bake Off and a much loved presence in the tent for nearly a decade. From her genuine expertise and encouragement of the bakers to her ability to drop innocent innuendos that reduce the entire tent (and the audience at home) to tears of laughter, Prue will always have a piece of Bake Off’s heart. “
While Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer Ian Katz, said, “Prue Leith has been a joyous presence in the tent, pairing absolute culinary authority with great generosity and empathy for the bakers We are grateful for her passion, her wit, her ineffable style, and all the summers she spent in the tent.
“She leaves an indelible mark on the show and all its bakers. We will miss her wry, gentle judgement but look forward to working with her on new projects. ” Prue’s replacement will be announced in due course and the next series of the show will air later this year.
Prue stepped down from the celebrity version of the show in 2024 and was replaced by Lady Caroline Waldegrave. Her decision to step down from the celebrity specials sparked fears she was planning to quit the main show. Prue previously denied claims she was quitting Bake Off and told ITV’s Lorraine: “I keep being asked if I’m leaving. This is because I left the celebrity [version]. I stopped doing that last year because I just hadn’t had a holiday in the summer for eight years. I’ve only given up Celebrity [Bake Off]. “
The decision came after Prue told the Mirror how she almost quit the Great British Bake Off because she wanted to spend more time with her family but bosses changed her schedule so she could carry on.
She was then missing from the next Celebrity version of Bake Off which raises money for Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer charity, so she could work less hours in the tent each year, and now had decided to leave entirely.
Asked if it was a hard decision to step back she told the Mirror in 2024: “You know, it wasn’t really hard because the fact of it is I was getting really tired. It meant we were filming from April to the end of August without a break and, although we got days off in each week, they were never the weekends. We were always filming at the weekend. And I was just… you know. I was in a new house and I hardly saw the garden, I hardly saw my family and I never had a summer holiday. I thought I might have to leave altogether because I didn’t realise there’d be an option.
“And so, I went to the producers and said, ‘I think I’ll have to quit…’ and they said: ‘Oh, don’t quit altogether. Don’t quit so you can have a holiday. If you want a holiday, let’s organise it so you can have a holiday’. “
Source: Mirror
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