Dame Prue Leith talks quitting Great British Bake Off ahead of airing of Christmas Eve festive special

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Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has shocked fans by talking about quitting the beloved Channel 4 baking reality show.

The 84-year-old restaurateur, broadcaster, cookery writer and novelist, who has been a judge on Bake Off since 2017, has said she wants to walk away on her own terms before being asked to leave by producers.

Leith, who judges the amateur bakers alongside Paul Hollywood, also said she has urged her husband John Playfair, her two children and her friends, to advise her when it is time to leave the show. She also hinted that her time to leave may be in the next couple of years.

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Leith, who will turn 85 in February, said in an interview with the MailOnline: “The only thing I'd say is that obviously I'm going to have to retire sometime soon because I wouldn't be able to do it forever, but I want to get out before I'm pushed.

“So I don't want to get to the stage that suddenly politely says 'you know, Prue, it's been ten years now, I really think perhaps we should think about a change'. I don't want that conversation. I want to be gone by before that conversation, but it is going to be up to my husband and my best friends to tell me when it's enough. We can't have you hobbling on to the stage.”

Great British Bake Off host Dame Prue Leith has spoken about the circumstances in which she’ll quit the Channel 4 reality show.Great British Bake Off host Dame Prue Leith has spoken about the circumstances in which she’ll quit the Channel 4 reality show.
Great British Bake Off host Dame Prue Leith has spoken about the circumstances in which she’ll quit the Channel 4 reality show. | Contributed

However, she did offer some hope for fans, as she insisted she isn’t planning to retire. “If you're asking me, am I planning to retire? No, I'm not. I love doing it, and as long as they'll have me, I will want to do it,” she added.

The Dame added that she is also concerned about her movement and her health. “I am not as physically agile as I was eight years ago,' she told US Weekly. “Last year because I'd had a bad leg, they put a little ramp for me to get onto the stage.”

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Leith’s comments come ahead of the airing of the Great British Bake Off Christmas special, which will be on Channel 4 tonight (Tuesday December 24). Soap stars including Natalie Cassidy and Dean Gaffneywill enter the Bake Off tent as they try to take the festive baking crown.

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