Restaurateur, food columnist and TV personality Prue Leith has confirmed that she’s in talks to replace Mary Berry on the ‘Great British Bake Off’.
Earlier this week, reports named Prue as a potential candidate to join Paul Hollywood on the new series of ‘Bake Off’, set to debut later this year.
She has now confirmed that she’s had “lots of meetings” with Channel 4 bosses about landing the gig, but insists that while she’s “certainly one of the runners”, the deal is far from done.
Speaking at a charity event, Prue explained (via BBC News): “I can dream. I’ve had two auditions with them and lots of meetings.
When asked whether she’d really want the job, she added: “Of course I’d love to do it. Who wouldn’t want to do it?”
According to The Sun, ‘Bake Off’ bosses are keen to bag Prue because of her similarities to predecessor Mary Berry, with a source telling the newspaper: “Both are from similar backgrounds, so hopefully viewers will be accepting and give Prue a chance to win them over.
“Following in Mary’s footsteps is a big challenge, but the producers are confident that Prue has all the attributes.”
Prue initially ruled herself out of replacing Mary as a judge on ‘Bake Off’ last year, telling the Telegraph at the time that she had no intention of joining the show, following the break-up of the original team.
“I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, really,” she said. “I was more concerned about Brangelina.”