Great British Bake Off Fans Are Thrilled About Nigella Lawson Judging Rumours

Great British Bake Off fans are positively buzzing over reports that Nigella Lawson is being lined up as the show’s new resident judge.

On Wednesday evening, Bake Off staple Dame Prue Leith announced she was stepping down as a judge after nine seasons, and would not be returning to the tent.

Just hours later, The Sun reported that TV chef and all-round national treasure Nigella is “to join The Great British Bake Off”, citing sources who claimed “contract talks were coming to a close” and that she was “ready to sign on the dotted line” as Paul Hollywood’s new right-hand woman.

And as the news became more widespread, fans seemed pretty excited at the prospect of having Nigella join the Bake Off tent.

HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for both Nigella Lawson and the Great British Bake Off for comment.

Dame Prue had been part of the Bake Off team since the show made the jump to Channel 4 in 2017, taking over from OG judge Mary Berry.

Announcing her exit, Dame Prue said in a statement: “Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years, I have genuinely loved it and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison [Hammond] and Noel [Fielding] and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4.”

She continued: “Now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86 for goodness sake!), there’s so much I’d like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden.

“Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.”

The Great British Bake Off will return for its 17th series in the summer, with a new judge being welcomed into the fold alongside Paul Hollywood and presenters Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.