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The United Kingdom’s two foremost culinary treasures are joining forces in what will surely be the most powerful sweet-treat crossover event to occur in the British Isles since banana met toffee to form banoffee. The Great British Bake Off has announced Nigella Lawson as its next judge, joining Paul Hollywood and hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond in the tent for series 17. She will replace Prue Leith, who announced her departure from the show last week due in part to being “86 for goodness sake!” and wanting to “spend summers enjoying my garden.”
“I’m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now! 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,” Lawson wrote in an Instagram post officially announcing the news. “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!”
Leith replied to the post, writing, “I was so hoping it would be Nigella! Brilliant choice.” Lawson rose to fame in the U.K. in the late ’90s and early 2000s for cookbooks like How to Eat and a variety of TV series, beginning with Nigella Bites. Move over soggy bottoms and Paul Hollywood handshakes — Lawson’s warm and playful style as a TV presenter make her a perfect addition to the show and a catchphrase generator all her own.
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