Dame Prue Leith reveals true feelings on Nigella Lawson joining Great British Bake Off
Dame Prue Leith has weighed in on the decision to bring in Nigella Lawson as her replacement on the Great British Bake Off.
Dame Prue Leith doesn't think Great British Bake Off producers could have found a "better" replacement than Nigella Lawson.
The 86-year-old star announced in January that she was stepping down as Paul Hollywood's fellow judge on the Channel 4 baking competition, and food writer Nigella, 66, will be taking over inside the iconic tent.
Reflecting on the decision, Dame Prue told HELLO! magazine: "I don't think they could have chosen a better person. I don't know her well, but what I know of her is all good."
Dame Prue previously insisted while Nigella will "be very different" as a judge, she is backing her to be a success.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: "But she's a class act, she really knows what she's doing.
"She knows her onions - people will expect her to know about cake, which she certainly does, but what they won't expect is how clever she is, how sharp, witty - she's really erudite.
"She's a fantastically clever woman."
However, she insisted Paul Hollywood could easily have continued as a solo judge if bosses had gone that route.
She explained: "Paul is lovely, and he really knows his stuff, especially on bread.
"He's really good at his job, and he could, frankly, do the job without you. He doesn't really need a second judge because he knows it all and is excellent at it."
Meanwhile, Dame Prue has insisted she has no regrets about quitting Bake Off to enjoy some downtime.
She told ITV's Lorraine: "It's the right thing to do just because I'm getting on, and I don't have much time left.
"And I suddenly realised I will never again have a summer holiday in Europe, I'll never be able to go to France or Italy, or Greece or Spain, because I'll be filming. You film all summer.
"And I just thought I want to do that. And so, of course, I could have holidays in the winter if you go to South Africa, because I'm South African, so I love the sun.
"But I wanted a European holiday, so this year, I'm going to take the whole family to France for a week, and I could never do that before."
