{"id":2251251,"date":"2026-01-26T16:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T16:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2251251"},"modified":"2026-01-26T16:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T16:21:14","slug":"nigella-confirmed-as-prue-leiths-bake-off-replacement-the-clue-shes-set-to-be-the-kindest-judge-the-tent-has-seen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/nigella-confirmed-as-prue-leiths-bake-off-replacement-the-clue-shes-set-to-be-the-kindest-judge-the-tent-has-seen\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigella confirmed as Prue Leith&#8217;s Bake Off replacement &#8211; the clue she&#8217;s set to be the kindest judge the tent has seen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"621e06f1-581e-468c-ba3d-d858902ee970\">No sooner had Prue Leith announced she was stepping down as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/quiz-of-the-day-22nd-january-2026-great-british-bake-off\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/quiz-of-the-day-22nd-january-2026-great-british-bake-off\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/quiz-of-the-day-22nd-january-2026-great-british-bake-off\/\"><em>Bake Off<\/em><\/a> judge and rumours were swirling about her replacement, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/nigella-lawson-bake-off-judge\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/nigella-lawson-bake-off-judge\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/life\/news-entertainment\/nigella-lawson-bake-off-judge\/\">Nigella Lawson<\/a> has been confirmed as the person stepping into her shoes.<\/p>\n<p>The cooking goddess was always the front-runner to replace 86-year-old Prue, and confirmation of her new role has delighted her fans and set off a huge wave of excitement for some.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"621e06f1-581e-468c-ba3d-d858902ee970-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Confirmed as a fan of the show by previously posting pictures of herself settling down to watch it on social media, Nigella has also dropped a big hint she could inject some positivity into the series for both viewers, and contestants.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-b border-solid border-[#333]\">\n<span class=\"&#10;after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t-[#333] after:border-t after:border-solid&#10;before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t-[#333] before:border-t before:border-solid&#10;font-article-heading pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333] flex custom-thumbnail-list-styles\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">She once said she could never be in the business of appearing on cooking shows she describes as &#8220;a theatre of cruelty and humiliation,&#8221; and would only judge on a series where she could be free to show participants the ultimate respect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Paul Hollywood is known for his sometimes-cutting critique of the contestants, and some have felt that what was once a fluffy, heartwarming show in <em>Bake Off<\/em>, has become a little hard in recent years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/culture\/television\/final-closest-bake-off-ever-come-cruel-4019718\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-url=\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/culture\/television\/final-closest-bake-off-ever-come-cruel-4019718\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\"><em>iPaper<\/em><\/a> felt the 2025 final was the closest the series had ever come to demonstrating &#8220;cruelty&#8221;, and that seeing contestants nearly in tears went against what the show typically stood for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">With Nigella on board, it appears she will turn that on its head and possibly become one of the kindest judges in its history.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-As5L8psoFixBPF9rNKzTn\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-As5L8psoFixBPF9rNKzTn slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up to our free daily email for the latest royal and entertainment news, interesting opinion, expert advice on styling and beauty trends, and no-nonsense guides to the health and wellness questions you want answered.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>She once told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nowtolove.com.au\/celebrity\/celebrity-news\/nigella-lawson-single-73912\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.nowtolove.com.au\/celebrity\/celebrity-news\/nigella-lawson-single-73912\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\"><em>Now to Love<\/em><\/a> what she really thinks of &#8220;mean&#8221; cooking shows, explaining, &#8220;I don\u2019t like that at all. I think it\u2019s counterproductive for everyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It makes people at home feel inhibited about cooking too, because they have this persecutory voice in their heads. I couldn\u2019t be part of a programme like that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It doesn\u2019t mean to say you\u2019re not honest, but there\u2019s never a need to be mean.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"pt-3 pb-4 mb-4 border-b border-solid border-[#333]\">\n<span class=\"&#10;after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t-[#333] after:border-t after:border-solid&#10;before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t-[#333] before:border-t before:border-solid&#10;font-article-heading pb-3 !text-base font-bold uppercase sm:text-sm text-[#333] flex custom-thumbnail-list-styles\"><br \/>\nYou may like<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"e84039de-d836-4db3-97e2-55d8ef282b8c\">Nigella has been quick to share her excitement at joining the <em>Bake Off<\/em> team. In a statement she says, &#8220;I\u2019m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Of course it\u2019s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/tag\/mary-berry\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/tag\/mary-berry\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.womanandhome.com\/tag\/mary-berry\/\">Mary Berry<\/a> before her, great dames both, but I\u2019m also bubbling with excitement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>The Great British Bake Off<\/em> is more than a television programme, it\u2019s a National Treasure \u2013 and it\u2019s a huge honour to be entrusted with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m 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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Giving her seal of approval, Prue Leith was one of the first to comment when the news was shared to the <em>Bake Off<\/em> Instagram account. &#8220;I was so hoping it would be Nigella! Brilliant choice,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>Hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond also expressed their joy at being joined in the tent by Nigella. Noel says, &#8220;So Excited! Welcome to the Mischief Palace, we will all have a blast.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Alison adds simply, &#8220;Welcome to the family, Queen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.womanandhome.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No sooner had Prue Leith announced she was stepping down as Bake Off judge and rumours were swirling about her replacement, Nigella Lawson has been confirmed as the person stepping into her shoes. The cooking goddess was always the front-runner to replace 86-year-old Prue, and confirmation of her new role has delighted her fans and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2251252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigella-confirmed-as-Prue-Leiths-Bake-Off-replacement-the.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2251251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2251253,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251251\/revisions\/2251253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2251252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2251251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2251251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2251251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}