Prue Leith never watches the Great British Baking Show
Emily Beck
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
