Prue Leith to step down as Great British Bake Off judge after nine series

Prue Leith has announced she will leave The Great British Bake Off as one of its judges after nine series, saying she will hand over her duties to someone else. "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," said Leith.

"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." Leith joined Bake Off on its move from the BBC to Channel 4 as a replacement for original co-host Mary Berry, who opted not to leave the BBC alongside presenters Mel and Sue.

Her tenure included a 2017 controversy when she accidentally revealed the winner on Twitter; she blamed the mistake on the time difference between the UK and Bhutan and told ITV’s This Morning, "As soon as it went I thought ‘oh my God’ and I went into a panic mode where I couldn’t work my phone and I didn’t know how to delete it quickly and I couldn’t think.

Key Topics

Culture, Prue Leith, Bake Off, Love Productions, Mary Berry, Twitter