The real reason behind Prue Leith's Great British Bake Off exit
22 September 2026, 19:55
Nigella Lawson has stepped in to replace the GBBO judge but why did Prue Leith leave? Here's the full story.
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Prue Leith confirmed in January 2026 she would be stepping away from her role as a judge on The Great British Bake Off.
At the time she revealed it was her age, at 86, and her desire to no longer work summers so she could travel Europe and tend to her garden. However, she has since revealed more on her decision to quit.
Taking over from Prue, food expert Nigella Lawson will be stepping into the famous GBBO tent alongside Paul Hollywood for the latest series.
With a line up of 12 new contestants, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding will also be back on presenting duties.
Why did Prue Leith leave The Great British Bake Off?
Despite saying it was down to wanting her summers back, Prue later admitted her age and health played a huge part in her decision to leave GBBO.
Speaking on The Shift podcast, she explained how she had become "not very steady" on her legs and found the extra filming difficult to do.
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Prue explained: "They wanted us to dance round this field. And it was a very hummocky, uneven, field, which of course Noel could really leap over brilliantly and Paul perfectly good.
"But I suddenly realised 'I'm going to go A over T, you know, this is going to be humiliating beyond belief'. So I said 'I don't want to do it', and they understood – they were fine."
The restaurateur and cookery writer admitted it was the first time she had to say "I can't do that".
"Gradually there had been more and more of those things," Prue added.
Mary Berry was the original judge alongside Paul when GBBO first began before Prue took over in 2017.
