After nine years, Prue Leith has declared her departure from The Great British Bake Off.
The 85-year-old TV chef has announced that she is leaving the show, stating that it is the appropriate time for her to do so. She expressed her desire to spend more time doing other things while she can in a statement posted on social media. When the show switched from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017, she took Mary Berry’s spot.
“Over the past nine years, Bake Off has been an amazing part of my life. I truly love it, and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison, and Noel, as well as the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4,” Leith stated.
But since I’m 86 years old, it seems like the perfect moment to take a break. I have a lot of things I’d like to accomplish, like spending summers in my garden. I’m confident that whoever joins the team will enjoy it just as much as I have. I consider myself really fortunate to have participated in it.
Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will continue to host Bake Off, and Paul Hollywood is anticipated to continue serving as a judge.
“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,” Love Productions wrote in a statement regarding Leith’s departure from the show.
“Prue Leith has been a joyful presence in the tent, combining absolute culinary authority with great generosity and empathy for the bakers,” stated Ian Katz of Channel 4.
“We are appreciative of all the summers she spent in the tent, as well as her enthusiasm, wit, and indescribable flair. She makes a lasting impression on the program and all of its bakers. Although we look forward to collaborating with her on new initiatives, we will miss her humorous, compassionate judgment.
Dr. Rahul Mandal, the 2018 winner, and other former candidates showered her with support messages after she announced her departure from the competition. “We will miss you so much,” he wrote. Being in the tent with you was an honor and a delight. We have always been inspired by your kindness, humor, and drive. I want Deveshi to have your courage, boldness, and beauty.
Jasmine Mitchell, the 2025 winner, added: “Awwwww, Prue, you’re amazing and we will miss you so much xxx.”
Rowan Claughton, star of Series 14, told Leith: “You’ll be sorely missed! Meeting you on the show was such an honor.
Leith made the decision to leave the Channel 4 show after withdrawing from The Great British Bake Off’s celebrity version in 2024. For the 2025 edition, Caroline Waldegrave took the place of the baking expert on the spin-off series.
Given Leith’s departure, it may have been anticipated that Waldegrave would go from spin-off to main show, but Channel 4 has not yet announced the new judge for the series.
Later in the year, the Channel 4 series will resume, and Leith’s replacement will likely be announced by the network.
Prior to being acquired by Channel 4, The Great British Bake Off was first broadcast on the BBC from 2010 until 2016. When the program changed hands in 2017, Leith was brought in to take Berry’s place.
In her book Being Old… And Learning To Love It, the TV star has been candid about her desire to embrace new experiences.
According to the Daily Mail, she stated in an excerpt from the book: “My parents’ generation, and many of mine, imbibed the idea that once we’re past 60, all sorts of things are ‘inappropriate’ for us: dancing, sitting on a bar stool, wearing pillar-box red, smoking marijuana.”
They seem to believe that we should all sit in a corner, knit, and wear beige. They were brainwashed, I believe. They had a false sense of their value and agreed that elderly people shouldn’t be seen or heard.
“That we should dress as discreetly as possible, that we should put romance, love, and sex out of our minds, that we are too old to be of any service to anyone, and that we should dedicate ourselves to charitable causes and ungrateful grandchildren.
It goes without saying that I don’t fit in. I’m fortunate in that I actually prefer a little stress: I like to have a full diary, a lot of balls in the air, and the satisfaction of fixing things and clearing out messes. However, I rarely experience stress.
Leith has produced Prue and Danny’s Death Road Trip for Channel 4, where she discussed the legality of euthanasia with her son and Reform UK MP Danny Kruger, in addition to leading Bake Off.
After witnessing the “absolute agony” her brother David went through prior to his death from bone cancer in 2012, Leith became an advocate for legalising assisted dying in the UK, as she told Sky in 2024. She supports Dignity in Dying as well.
