After 9 Seasons, Dame Prue Leith Is Stepping Away From The Great British Bake Off

Fans of "The Great British Bake Off" have come to know and love Prue Leith, but it appears her run is coming to an end. In an announcement shared on social media, Leith (or should we say Dame Prue Leith), revealed that she will be stepping down as one of the two main hosts of "The Great British Bake Off," a position she shared for nine of the show's 15 seasons with Paul Hollywood. Lieth joined back in 2017 after the departure of original co-host Mary Berry, who left when the show moved from its original home on the BBC.

Rumors have been going around that Leith might be leaving for the last year, as she made recent statements about spending more time with her husband and retirement during her appearance on a an episode of "The Travel Diaries" podcast. She already stepped back as the host of the celebrity version of the show, which she attributed to not having been able to take a holiday in eight years when she appeared on the British talk show, "Lorraine." Given that she's 86 years old, and has been working professionally in the culinary world since the '60s, we say she's more than earned the break.

In the statement she shared on Instagram and Facebook, Leith said, "Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years, I have genuinely loved it and I'm sure I'll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison and Noel and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4. But now feels like the right time to step back (I'm 86 for goodness sake!), there's so much I'd like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden." She added that she's sure whoever does take her place will enjoy it just as much as she has. 

What's amazing about Prue Leith's career is that hosting "The Great British Bake Off" might be one of the least impressive things she's ever done. Born in South Africa in 1940, Leith moved to London and opened a catering business at age 20. By 29 she had opened Leith's, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the city's Notting Hill neighborhood that lasted 25 years. She founded Leith's School of Food and Wine in 1975, and has published 12 cookbooks, seven novels, and two memoirs. Her first TV hosting gig was all the way back in the '70s, although she stepped away from TV for decades after originally not enjoying the work.

That alone would be a massive list of accomplishments for 99.9% of people, but Leith was also the first woman appointed to the British Rail Board, where she helped improve the quality of food and drink on British trains. She's served on the corporate boards of companies like Woolworth's and Safeway, which led to a whole other career chairing more charitable organizations than one could possibly list — including ones dedicated to improving failing schools, and providing more sustainable, high quality food for school children.

With the news still fresh, there is no confirmed replacement to start doling out lessons from the "The Great British Bake Off" yet. However Leith was replaced by Caroline Waldegrave on the celebrity version, with pastry chef Cherish Finden rumored to also be taking over for Waldegrave soon, so those are two names to look at.