Caroline Waldegrave is taking the reins from Prue Leith as judge on the Great Celebrity Bake Off, and will have her first outing on the programme tonight (March 16), in episode one of its Stand Up To Cancer special.
At the age of 85, Prue said she’s getting a bit old to regularly present both The Great British Bake Off and its celebrity spin-off.
As such, she’s taking a step back from the charity series and allowing her friend and business partner Caroline a swing of the hammer.
Prue Leith won’t appear on this series of the Great Celebrity Bake Off (Credit: YouTube)
Why is Prue Leith not on the Bake off?
Speaking earlier this year, Prue revealed: “It’s mainly because these things are filmed back to back [the celeb and normal version of the show].”
I’m getting a bit old and there’s places I want to go.
She added: “The whole way through the summer, so you start in April and you end at the end of August. Honestly, you get no time off. And, I’m getting a bit old and there’s places I want to go.”
Meet new British Bake Off judge Caroline Waldegrave
Caroline Linda Margaret Waldegrave, Lady Waldegrave of North Hill – to use her full name and title – is the managing director of Leiths School of Food and Wine. Born in 1952, she’ll turn 73 later this year.
Prue founded Leiths School of Food and Wine in 1975. It’s an educational institution that trains professional chefs and amateur cooks. By the early 1990s, it was turning over several million pounds a year, and she sold it to Waldegrave in 1994.
Caroline had already worked with Prue for a long time, however. She had been principal of the school from 1975, and continued to be after buying it until 2002, when she became its managing director.
She has also co-authored several cooking books, including Leiths Cookery Bible and Leiths Fish Bible. In 1999, she was awarded an OBE. And she has four children with her husband William, a former Conservative politician and Cabinet member (from 1990 to 1997).
Caroline said she was ‘terrified’ of taking the reins from friend Prue Leith (Credit: Channel 4 Productions/YouTube)
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