Prue Leith shares new reason for why she left Bake Off

The 86-year-old cookery writer and restaurateur shared that she was leaving the Channel 4 baking show to focus on other interests.

However, she has now shared another factor that played into it, because of concerns over her mobility.

Speaking on The Shift podcast about a moment of filming when she realised this, Leith said: “We weren’t judging cake – they wanted us to dance round this field.

“And it was a very hummocky, uneven field, which of course Noel [Fielding] could really leap over brilliantly and Paul [Hollywood] 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.”

Leith admitted that it was the first time she had to refuse an activity on the show due to her physical limitations.

She said: “That was the first time I had to say ‘I can’t do that.’

“Gradually there had been more and more of those things.”

Prue Leith discusses presenting partnership with Paul Hollywood

Leith joined Bake Off as a judge in 2017, when the show moved from the BBC to Channel 4.

Speaking about their 25-year age gap, Leith said Hollywood regularly joked about her being older.

She said: “Ever since I’ve been on Bake Off, Paul has always teased me because I’m so much older than him.

“He’d say things like ‘Come along deary, upsy daisy,’ ‘time for your nap,’ or ‘time for your tea,’ or something or other.

“This is a running joke… but of late I’ve thought ‘Actually, you’re right mate.’

“If I had stayed on Bake Off, I’d have asked for a ramp to get into my Winnebago.

“Paul’s teasing would have become absolutely true, so he would have probably stopped doing it.”

Who will be replacing Prue Leith on The Great British Bake Off?

The TV cook and food writer Nigella Lawson was announced as Prue Leith’s replacement on the programme.

She becomes the third judge to work alongside Paul Hollywood after Leith and Dame Mary Berry.

The 66-year-old has said she will leave the “technical” judging to Hollywood and focus on the “eating”.

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During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning, Nigella also shared that she was “really looking forward” to joining the team.

She said: “Well, I’m really looking forward to it.

“Listen, I think Prue is just fantastic, and Mary Berry was fantastic before.

“So if I think about it like that, I do, then I feel like, ‘Oh no’, you know, I get really frightened.

“So I’ve just got to say, you know, that they have given me the honour of offering me this, and I just want to do it as well as I can, and just, you know, become a part of it and enjoy it.”