
Dame Prue Leith, a Great British Bake Off judge, has expressed her grief at Matt Lucas’ decision to leave the show, although she has no idea who would replace him.
Matt stated in December that he had stood down from hosting the popular Channel 4 competition alongside Noel Fielding after three seasons, citing an inability to commit to the show’s schedule.
It’s been a delicious experience and I can’t imagine a more fun way of spending my summers, but it’s become clear to me that I can’t present both ‘Fantasy Football League’ and ‘Bake Off’ alongside all my other projects,’ he said in his statement.
‘I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else.’
Dame Prue expressed her sadness over Matt’s departure, saying, ‘I’m very, very sad he’s leaving.’
Speaking to Sage magazine, she added: ‘I totally understand why, because Bake Off takes up four months of the year and he’s extraordinarily talented and wants to do more writing, more theatre.’
Dame Prue joined Bake Off as a judge in 2017, partnering Paul Hollywood.
When asked who she thought could step into his shoes, the 82-year-old continued: ‘Not a clue. Although who wouldn’t want to work on Bake Off? It’s the best job on television. It absolutely changed my life.’
Dame Prue quipped last month that ‘everyone in television’ had been eager to tell her they were ‘available’ for Matt’s job since the post became available.
Appearing on The One Show, she said: ‘Almost everybody who’s in telly has said to me, “I’m available” – as if I had anything to do with the casting!’
She then paid tribute to her ex-co-star, mirroring his demanding schedule.
‘What I think about Matt Lucas is I’m really sad because I love the guy,’ she continued. ‘He’s such fun ad he got on so well with Noel [Fielding], they were just a brilliant pair.
‘But I do understand why because if you’re close to Matt then you know he never stops working and he has so many projects and people keep asking him to do things.’
Great British Bake Off is expected to return to Channel 4 next autumn.