Dame Prue Leith has announced she will be stepping down as a judge on Great British Bake Off after almost a decade
Dame Prue Leith candidly suggested she doesn’t believe she has “much longer” left. It came shortly before the 86-year-old announced she was quitting The Great British Bake Off after almost a decade.
Dame Prue previously revealed she wanted to spend as much time as she can with husband John Playfair. The baker says it led to her relying on John whenever she travels for work.
During an appearance on Holly Rubenstein’s The Travel Diaries podcast last year, Dame Prue admitted: “I haven’t got much longer, I’m 85, I want to spend as much time as I can with him.”
It led to Prue asking her agent to request John travels with her. And while she says he’s not her “carer”, she jokes it is “pretty close”.
She continued: “And so, if we are filming abroad, or like next week, we’re going to New York, because I’ve got to publicise the American baking show, then I’m now old enough for my agent to say ‘I’m sorry, but she has to ring her husband, because she’s 85, she needs someone to carry the bags’ she doesn’t quite say ‘she needs a carer’ but it’s pretty close. “
Earlier during the podcast, Dame Prue spoke affectionately about her husband, highlighting his modest character and absence of vanity. She told listeners: “One of the wonderful things about him is that he is totally without ego, he doesn’t feel threatened by the fact that I have a higher profile than he does, when I introduce him (to people) he always just says ‘I’m the handbag carrier, I’m her chauffeur’. “
Dame Prue married John in 2016, after losing her first husband, Rayne Kruger, who passed away aged 80 in 2002.
The pair had two children – Li-Da Kruger, whom they adopted from Cambodia, and Danny Kruger.
On a different matter regarding her youthful looks at 85, Dame Prue disclosed: “I wish I could say it is from some wonderful thing I do, but if I look good or at least younger than I am, then it’s got to be at least because I sleep well and I eat well, and I am happy, when you’re unhappy, you don’t eat well. “
Dame Prue’s distinguished career in cooking commenced aged 20 when she signed up for the Cordon Bleu Cookery School.
Following her training there, she launched her first major venture into the food sector by establishing her own restaurant, Leith’s, in Notting Hill, London, aged 29.
Her professional path has transformed her into a cherished television personality and accomplished writer of multiple cookery books. In 2017, she assumed one of her highest-profile positions as a judge on the Great British Bake Off, taking over from Dame Mary Berry.
In a statement on Instagram this afternoon, Dame Prue revealed she was stepping down from the show. It comes after she missed the 2024 celebrity edition with close friend Lady Caroline Waldegrave judging alongside Paul Hollywood.
During her spell on the show, Prue has worked with current presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond as well as previous hosts Sandi Toksvig and Matt Lucas.
She said: “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. “
She added: “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. “
Source: Mirror
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