Prue Leith is leaving GBBO :( - who should take her place?

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2j80g4vy3o

She's 86, so I suppose she's allowed to take it a bit easier. Harrumph. She's been great. Her replacement has to be able to hold her own against Paul Hollywood. Any ideas?

Multiple papers now reporting that it will be Nigella, so that seems to be official.

I think she'll be good. She has enough judging experience and confidence to stand up to Paul, and I love her books and food writing. Domestic Goddess was my gateway to baking and I love the way she made baking accessible and enjoyable for busy family cooks. Obviously she has never been, or claimed to be, a professional cook, but she has been a food critic for decades and will know how to talk about baking with insight and engagement.

My guess is they were trying out Caroline Waldegrave to see if it worked, as she is more in the Prue mould, but while she was perfectly pleasant and competent, she didn't bring much presence to the screen and I'm glad they went for someone with a proven track record.

Looking forward to it!

Oh sorry to hear Pru is leaving - though i get why she wants to. Still would have preferred it to be Paul.

It'll have to be a well-chosen person. Someone more successful and admired than Paul is ideal. Even equal to him. Otherwise he'll become even more unbearable if there's no one to slap him down. The above poster is not wrong whole handshake thing had got ridiculous. I would love to see a contestant unbothered by it!

From what I've seen of her, Andi Oliver is a great suggestion

(Edit to to amend her name. I mean i like Andi Peters but I don't think his baking credentials high enough 😄)

I love, love, love, Felicity Cloake, from the Guardian "Perfect".
I never cook anything before checking her out. She's utterly fabulous.

I've never seen her as a presenter but I love her writing and agree the Perfect series is wonderful. I love that it tells you the pros and cons of all the different recipes so you can make hers or make your own adaptation because she's done the footwork for you.

But anyway...it's Nigella.

Nigella seems to big a name for this. I think some of the contestants will be star struck 😄

True, also I forgot it would need to be a professional baker when I suggested Jo Brand above -- bah!!

Nadiya, Nigella or Nancy Birtwhistle

They should get rid of Noel who clearly doesn’t give a shit about baking.

My husband, who knows nothing about baking so has almost certainly nicked this from somewhere, messaged me earlier to say 'Is Nigella a choux in?'

That is the Sun headline, I saw it on BBC breakfast this morning

Ravneet Gill from Junior Bake off. Actually Liam Charles comes across well as a judge too and is more experienced now after presenting the Professionals .

Lorraine is a good call. She’s lovely.

I always use Felicity’s carbonara recipe.

Clearly it should be the spirit of Fanny Cradock raised from the dead, all ballgowns and lipstick, to terrorise P Hollywood.

Instead of trying to find someone able to stand up to Paul, maybe the answer is to use it as an opportunity to get rid of him?

Rosemary Shrager is in the spirit of the grande dame.

I love Nigella but I can't imagine her in Bake Off. Lorraine Pascale is a great idea.

Thanks, I knew it was beyond his powers to come up with something as baking-specific as that!

I’m surprised if she has taken it on. I really can’t see her putting in as many years on the show as Mary and Prue and it's a show which benefits from that continuity.

I was surprised when I looked and Prue has been doing it for longer than Mary - in my head they were about the same.

He's funny and sweet with the contestants though, and he and Alison are fab together.

I'd LOVE that

Delia or Nigella

Oh please not Nigella. I love her-but there’s enough innuendo already!

It’s Nigella according to tabloids!

Agree. Mel and Sue weren’t bakers either.