How Old Is Prue Leith: The Real Age Of The GBBO Star
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Prue Leith has become almost as beloved as her predecessor when she took over the judging of The Great British Bake Off from Mary Berry.
The restaurateur and chef has had a long career in food in the UK, attending the prestigious Cordon Bleu Cookery School and starting her own restaurant in London.
With her lively fashion sense and young looks, however, many fans of the show are surprised when they find out her real age.
So how old is Prue Leith?
How Old Is Prue Leith?
Actually, Prudence Margaret Leith is 81 years old. She was born on the 18th of February 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa.
She revealed her age on an episode of GBBO last year, leaving many fans shocked. For comparison, her co-judge on the show, Paul Hollywood, is 55 years old, meaning there is a staggering 26 year age gap between the two bakers.
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Over her 60 year career, Prue has opened a Michelin-starred restaurant, written 12 cookery books, and was a chair for the Royal Society of the Arts.
The cook is also technically a Dame, after receiving a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2021. Prue also holds an Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), all for services to food and broadcasting.
Her Baking Career
Prue’s love of cooking and baking came, like all good inspiration, from the city of Paris. At age 17, she left South Africa to study at the prestigious Sorbonne in the city and decided that she wanted a career in the food industry.
In 1960, she started the Cordon Bleu Cooking School and started an events business called Prue’s Good Food.
She followed up her restaurant in London with Leiths School of Food and Wine, a chef training school that was earning Prue £15 million by 1993.
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In the 00s, she began her TV career, starting on The Great British Menu on the BBC. She also appeared on My Kitchen Rules.
In March 2017, she replaced Mary Berry as one of the judges on The Great British Bake Off, now on Channel 4. Though she had big boots to fill (we all loved Mary Berry), she’s won over fans with her colourful fashion sense, her love for “boozy bakes” and thoughtful advice.
When Prue joined the show, she said she was only nervous about one thing: meeting the dreaded Paul Hollywood.
She said: “I was doing what I like to do most, which is eating good food – so I was never nervous about the actual job. But I was a bit frightened of Paul Hollywood. The way he can be completely silent and stare – it’s terrifying.”
Prue Leith’s Husband
Prue is married to John Playfair, a retired clothes designer. They married in 2016, and it is Prue’s second marriage.
In 1974, the chef married Rayne Kruger, a South African author and property developer. They had two children: one boy, Danny Kruger, and an adopted girl, Li-Da. Sadly, Rayne died aged 80 in 2002.
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Despite meeting in 2011 and marrying in 2016, Prue and John only moved in together in 2020. Instead, they lived one mile from each other in the Cotswolds.
Explaining their situation, Prue said: “I tell you what, it’s the ideal thing. What you want – and what I get – is him without his clobber and without the responsibility of looking after his laundry and sewing on his buttons.”
However, the couple finally caved in and Prue put up her £10 million Cotswolds home for sale last year. Now, they live in what was formerly just John’s home, where Prue managed to create her dream kitchen.
But is living with John as bad as she expected it to be? “He doesn’t do the cooking, but he makes me tea and sometimes cleans my shoes. In fact, he’s so good at cleaning them that I’ve stopped doing it.”
