‘The Great British Bake Off’ Names New Judge Following Beloved Judge’s Exit

Nigella Lawson has been named as a new judge of The Great British Bake Off. News of her addition comes as longtime judge, Pure Leith, has announced her exit from the reality competition series.

Lawson, who will join judge Paul Hollywood, has been a staple of British TV cooking for decades. She is beloved for her comforting and delicious recipes.

“I’m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now! Of course it’s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I’m also bubbling with excitement,” Lawson said on a statement about joining the show, per Deadline. “The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it’s a national treasure – and it’s a huge honour to be entrusted with it. I’m just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity.”

Leith began working on the series in 2017 after replacing Mary Berry. Originally, The Great British Bake Off was on BBC before moving to Channel 4 in the UK. It streams on Netflix in the United States. The series first premiered in 2010.

Leith, 86, says despite her feeling “there cannot be a better job in the world” on the show, it was time for her to move on to her next chapter. Speaking to The Spectator, she said, “I have been dithering for years about when to stop judging The Great British Bake Off. When I joined nine years ago, I thought, since I was in my mid-seventies, that I’d be lucky to manage two years.”

She continued, “At that age, my mother was deaf as a post and away with the fairies, believing her son was her father and that her cat was the one she’d had 40 years before. But my marbles stayed more or less in place and there seemed no good reason to give up a job I loved.”

She said the show has taken a significant time away from her personal life due to the filming schedule. “Finally, though, the desire to work less and play more got to me. Bake Off and its offshoots such as The Great American Baking Show and even the Christmas specials are all filmed in the summer, which has meant I could never have a summer holiday,” she added.