The author and food critic wrote that she was ” bubbling with excitement” over the news, adding, “I wish the marvellous Prue all the best.”

Nigella Lawson to replace Prue Leith as judge on Great British Bake Off

The author and food critic wrote that she was " bubbling with excitement" over the news, adding, "I wish the marvellous Prue all the best."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

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January 26, 2026 10:59 a.m. ET

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Nigella Lawson; Prue Leith. Credit:

Scott McNaughton/Getty; Dave Benett/Getty

Holy cannoli! *The Great British Bake Off* has found a new judge. **

The heartwarming competition series has tapped food writer and chef Nigella Lawson to replace Dame Prue Leith after the former judge announced she’d be leaving the Bake Off tent last week. **

“I’m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now!” Lawson wrote in an Instagram statement. “Of course it’s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I’m also bubbling with excitement.”

Nigella Lawson poses during a Business Chicks function at Westin Hotel on Jan. 22, 2016 in Sydney, Australia.

Don Arnold/WireImage

She continued, “*The Great British Bake Off* is more than a television programme, it’s a National Treasure – and it’s a huge honour to be entrusted with it. I’m 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!”

Lawson’s casting was celebrated in the post’s comment section, with even Leith joining in to share her excitement. “I was so hoping it would be Nigella!” she wrote. “Brilliant choice."

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The show’s hosts — Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding — also got in on the festivities. “Welcome to the family Queen,” Hammond commented.

Fielding added, “So Excited !!! Welcome to the Mischief Palace. We will all have a blast.” **

And, in response to the wave of love and support, Lawson also wrote, “Thank you, thank you, thank you — I can’t wait to enter the Tent of Dreams!”

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Last week, Leith announced that she would be stepping down as a judge on *Bake Off *after nine seasons on the culinary series.

"*Bake Off *has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years,” she wrote in part. “I have genuinely loved it, and I'm sure I'll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison, and Noel, and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4."

Still, Leith noted that it felt like “the right time to step back,” reminding readers that she’s “86 for goodness sake” and that there’s “so much I’d like to do” with her life. “Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have,” she concluded. “I feel very lucky to have been part of it."

Now, Lawson is set to find her own footing within the Bake Off tent alongside fellow judge, Paul Hollywood. The 66-year-old restaurant critic has plenty of experience under her belt hosting her own cooking programs like *Nigella Bites, Nigella Kitchen, Simply Nigella, Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat. ***

She also previously served as a judge on the culinary series *The Taste,* which aired for three seasons on ABC, as well as its U.K. adaptation.

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