In a significant development for British television, The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has announced her departure from the Channel 4 baking competition after nine memorable years on the programme. The celebrated television chef, who originally joined the show in 2017 as the replacement for Mary Berry, confirmed she will be stepping back from her judging duties, describing the decision as feeling like the 'right time' to allow someone new to join the team.
A Fabulous Nine-Year Journey
Prue Leith, who will celebrate her 86th birthday next month, will be waving goodbye to her fellow judge Paul Hollywood, along with show hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond. Her departure follows the most recent series of the programme, which aired last September and concluded in November with student Jasmine Mitchell being crowned the winner.
Announcing her exit, Prue expressed heartfelt sentiments about her time on the show. 'Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years,' she stated. '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.'
Making Way for New Talent
The veteran chef went on to explain her reasoning, noting that '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 extended warm wishes to her eventual replacement, encouraging that 'whoever joins the team' after her will likely 'love it as much as she has', telling fans she's 'felt very lucky' to have been part of the beloved baking series.
Production company Love Productions, responsible for creating the Channel 4 show, paid tribute to Prue's contribution. '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,' they stated.
Channel 4's Tribute
Channel 4's Chief Content Officer Ian Katz added his own appreciation, saying: 'Prue 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.'
Katz continued: 'We will miss her wry, gentle judgement but look forward to working with her on new projects.' The programme is expected to return to screens later this year with a new judging lineup.
Previous Step Back from Celebrity Version
This announcement follows Prue's previous decision to step down from the celebrity version of the baking show in 2024, which was attributed to her intense filming schedule. At that time, Paul Hollywood's friend Lady Caroline Waldegrave took her place on the celebrity edition.
A source explained at the time: 'Prue absolutely loves working on Bake Off but filming two series a year can be punishing on top of her other commitments. She has already filmed the normal series, which will air this year but she will not appear on the celebrity version.'
Embracing Life Beyond Baking
Prue Leith has recently been vocal about embracing life in her eighties, declaring in her new book 'Being Old... And Learning To Love It' that she's not too old for 'romance, love and sex'. She has been critical of societal expectations around ageing, writing: 'My parents' generation, and many of mine, imbibed the idea that once we're past 60, all sorts of things are 'inappropriate' for us.'
The chef has also been open about her personal health journey, recently discussing a challenging experience with weight loss jabs that left her 'starving, feeling awful and sleeping all day'. Prue admitted she made errors when beginning Mounjaro injections, not properly reading instructions about maintaining adequate calorie intake.
'I didn't eat anything and was starving,' she revealed, explaining that this approach prevented weight loss as her body entered 'starvation mode'. 'I just felt awful, I wanted to sleep all the time,' she added, noting she eventually discontinued the treatment after eight difficult weeks.
As Prue Leith prepares to leave the Bake Off tent for the final time, her nine-year tenure will be remembered for her culinary expertise, warm encouragement of contestants, and the distinctive style she brought to one of Britain's most beloved television programmes.
