The Great British Baking Show/Great British Bake Off has teased that its 14th season will air this fall, although no exact release date has been announced yet. Still, judge Prue Leith is making the press rounds to promote the show’s expected due date. Prue took over for Mary Berry after Mary left during the Great British Sale Off of 2016, when the show moved from the BBC to Channel 4 and all of the original cast — except for piercingly blue-eyed Paul Hollywood — quit the show in solidarity. Despite her now six-year tenure with the show, Prue just admitted that she never watches when the episodes air:
Prue Leith has judged some memorable bakes on The Great British Baking Show — but will likely never see them on TV.
The reality show judge, 83, revealed to the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine that she doesn’t watch the show, and the reason behind it is tied to her look in the series.
“The trouble with our job as judges is you’re looking down all the time and all your chins are on view. Then, to have a gob full of cake…,” she told the outlet.
“I never watch Bake Off and the truth is not that I don’t think it’s a wonderful show, I do,” she added. “I’m so vain, I cannot bear seeing my wobbly bits on view all the time.”
The show’s new co-host Alison Hammond admitted that she too struggled with the temptation to try all the delicious confectionaries made on the show and has been hitting the gym to try to balance it all out.
“I probably put on half a stone. I’ve been working so much, I haven’t been training. I was face down in the cake every single bake,” Hammond said.
“I thought the appeal would’ve worn off, but I was tempted all the time,” she continued. “When you hear Prue say, ‘Oh, that’s delicious…’ I can feel myself dribbling.”
It was announced in March that Hammond would replace comedian Matt Lucas as host after he announced his departure from the show after three years, citing his busy schedule. Paul Hollywood is set to return as Leith’s co-judge and comedian Noel Fielding is also returning as a co-host.
While chatting on a recent episode of the Dish podcast, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, Leith shared her hopes that Hammond would end the “innuendos” that Hollywood, Lucas and Fielding previously laughed at on the show.
“I never get the jokes,” Leith said. “All this stuff about innuendo and things, I feel I’m really glad Alison’s coming because at least she’s a woman and she’ll be a little more sensible.”
I am in total agreement with Prue on her reasons for not tuning in. Watching yourself on camera is one thing, watching yourself eating on camera is beyond the pale. When I was a tweenager, my parents and I were invited to eat dinner at our favorite restaurant while they were being filmed for a local tv show. We were mortified at ourselves when the show aired! Truly, it’s a fate I don’t wish on my worst enemies. Eating is a sensuous experience that, if done well, can yield great pleasure, and I think we are just not meant to witness our own faces during the act of consummation. (This theory may be applied to certain other activities as well.)
Photos credit: Avalon.red, Getty and via Instagram
I agree with every word you say. I wouldnt be able to enjoy the food if I were being filmed or even watched.
Part of the reason I dislike Prue so much is her incessant “worth the calories” bullshit. Yeah, she’s clearly got a preoccupation with her weight, lots of people do. But GBBO isn’t the place for that, it’s a bad message.
Plus isn’t she a Tory/ Brexit supporter? Gobble away Prew
Prue Leith is a Tory (her son is a Tory politician), a brexiter and very very royalist.
Hahaha, I was in a play in high school and I had to eat something on stage, and my director told me not to actually eat it (I think it was a slice of bread or something), or to take very very miniscule pieces, because if I was actually eating like I normally would, it would look very weird and offputting, and that was just on stage, not filmed, lol.
I’m glad Matt Lucas is gone, sorry to say (not sorry?) he didn’t have great chemistry with Paul and I found Noel Fielding to be more supportive of the bakers. I do love the show and can’t wait for it to come back.
I agree! I didn’t like Matt Lucas AT ALL! Noel was much better with the bakers, and the only time the bits with Matt were funny was when Noel was the focus. Can’t wait to see how the new co host fits in
This show is the best. The concoctions made by the bakers are so horrible that it proves the sentiment that Britain knows nothing about food.
All day everyday! Lol You’re so right. It’s saving grace is the sweet contestants.
Wow, that’s so mean I’m not sure if you’re being facetious or not.
Neither is anyone who knows about her.
Between taking £1.000.000 as a “consultancy” fee to tell the NHS that the food they give to patients need to be better and more healthy (1mil.. to state the obvious. The NHS responded how they had no control over it as the government held the purse strings *and* they are not budgeting for anything other than boiled potato and cheap chicken breast) and her political views, no one wants to watch that mess. She is horrid.
It hasn’t been the same since the changeover. I watch re-runs of the Mary Berry episodes with Sue Perkins and Mel Geidroyce. Mary Berry is the Queen of Baking.
I miss the old GBBO. Prue can be so rude to the bakers, I really dislike her! Mary always had a kind word.
I have to confess it stopped being fun for me when they let the bakers put fondant on the cakes. That’s not home baking. I also find fondant disgusting, which may be part of it. TikTok seems to have a lot of buttercream decorating videos, which hopefully means and end to the fondant era.
I watch the Mary Berry shows that they have on PBS. Very pretty and lovely scenery.
I prefer the kid version. The kids are so cute and it’s amazing what they can do.
I am so disappointed to learn about Prue. I wish they would do away with the comedians. They irritate me. Hopefully Alison will be entertaining.