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Bake Off's Prue Leith admits 'I don't have long left' after quitting show

Dame Prue Leith opens up about thinking of death daily, being a 'rotten grandmother', and her passionate support for assisted dying in candid new book interview

[Dame Prue Leith Speaks At the Cambridge Union]

Prue Leith admits she 'doesn't have long left'(Image: Getty)

Renowned for her candour, former Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith has an admission to make. She reveals: "I think I was a good mum. I've been a rotten grandmother though."

Even following her choice to leave the hugely popular Channel 4 programme last month after nine years, she admits: "I still don't spend enough time with them. When I look at my fellow grandmothers, they live for their grandchildren. They shower them with attention, remembering all their birthdays. I fail utterly.

"What do I bring to the table? Occasionally I give the children cooking lessons. My husband has a great method of attracting them to our house he buys really dangerous toys, trikes, motorbikes, no stabilisers. They come for the danger... and stay for us and lunch."

[Prue Leith has reflected on her own death]

Prue Leith has reflected on her own death(Image: PA)

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Now 86, Dame Prue has five grandchildren, 11 when combined with those of her husband John Playfair, 72, whom she encountered in 2011 and wed in 2016. She has two children - a biological son Danny Kruger, 51, and an adopted daughter from Cambodia, Li-Da Kruger, 50, from her marriage to her first husband Rayne Kruger.

They remained together for 30 years until his death at 80 in 2002. She is now "very much in love and happily married" to retired fashion designer and tailor John and discusses their romance and more in her new book, Being Old and Learning to Love it, which is out now, reports the Mirror.

She says: "I'd be quite happy to talk about love in old age, if I could keep some of it private. But, inevitably, people want to know about sex. How many times a year, a month? I'm not careful, I'm very indiscreet and my instinct is to tell anyone anything they want to know. But I get myself into trouble. I'm so egotistical!"

[Four individuals are gathered around a table in a kitchen setting, engaging in conversation. Two individuals are seated at the table, while the other two are standing behind them. The table is adorned with cups, and various kitchen items and decorative elements, such as plants and bunting, are visible in the background.]

Nigella is taking over Prue's role in Bake Off(Image: Channel 4 / Love Productions)

One family member unlikely to receive an invitation is her new Maine Coon cat called Sophisticat, or Sophie for short. Showing off hands that have been scratched to pieces, she chuckles: "My birthday present from John. I've got a kitten now who is an escape artist, and has the sharpest claws in the world and loves to play. I'm completely shredded.

"I've been texting Paul Hollywood non stop because he and his wife Mellissa have two Maine Coon cats too. He was the only person I told [she was leaving]. We're such good friends and we've been a double act all this time he needed to know first."

Keeping in regular touch with Paul, she has been moved by the positive response to her exit. She states: "Nobody has said 'good riddance' - not one person! It's extraordinary - it's a cake show for goodness sake. There have been waves and waves of distress at my leaving, which is complete nonsense."

She's very fond of her successor, Nigella Lawson, 66, stating: "She's terrific."

[An elderly couple is standing together in an outdoor setting, holding beverages in their hands, with a busy background featuring a crowd of people and a modern building adorned with greenery.]

Prue Leith and husband John Playfair (Image: Getty Images for Pimm's)

Despite her infectious zest for life, fans might be surprised to learn that Dame Prue often contemplates mortality. She admits: "I think about death a lot. I look ahead and see death. Funnily enough I think it's something that old people do.

"I never thought about it in my 60s, but now it pops into my head most days. Just passing thoughts. The world is going to hell in a hand cart. Either AI will see us off, or war. I was born during the Second World War, and when it stopped we had 70/80 years of peace. But I think, 'Oh well I won't be here - let them carry on.' It's quite comforting I won't have to worry about that. I don't have long left. Ten years if I'm lucky. I need to use them well."

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