Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 21, 2026
After nine seasons on The Great British Bake Off, Dame Prue Leith is stepping down. The announcement was made this morning on Instagram:
The news is sad, but not terribly surprising. In an interview in 2024, she admitted the show’s intensive filming schedule was taking a toll — she barely saw her family or had summer breaks — and she told producers she was thinking of quitting. To keep her on the show, the producers agreed to adjust her schedule so she could have more time off and fewer hours filming.
At 85 years old, however, she’s ready to call it quits. She’s done eating matcha. Paul Hollywood will need someone else to kick around now. There’s no official word on who might replace her, but Caroline Waldegrave - a colleague and friend of Leith’s — did fill in for her on the charity special, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer.
