She’s been at the helm of Great British Bake Off since 2017, but Dame Prue Leith has said this year’s series could be her last.

The 85-year-old told The Mail on Sunday she was ‘very keen’ to step away from the popular Channel 4 show before she was pushed, and ‘might stop next year’.

The filming schedule, which involves long hours under the summer sun at Welford Park in Berkshire, is taking its toll on the television chef. 

She said: ‘I’m doing this year’s Bake Off, and I don’t know if this will be my last. I’ve got to stop some time, so I might stop next year.

‘I thought I’d just see how I go this year, because I definitely feel a bit older this year than I did last year. 

‘Things like getting out of a chair takes me longer than it used to. I don’t like big steps without a handrail. None of these things worried me two years ago – I could run upstairs – and so I’m very keen to leave Bake Off before I’m asked to leave. 

‘But on the other hand, I really enjoy it.’

Dame Prue is also a co-host of US spin-off The Great American Baking Show, and is weighing up leaving that programme too.

The 16th series, which will see the return of Prue Leith’s co-judge Paul Hollywood, 58, and presenters Alison Hammond, 50, and Noel Fielding, 51, will be screened from September

The 85-year-old told The Mail on Sunday she was ‘very keen’ to step away from the popular Channel 4 show before she was pushed, and ‘might stop next year’

The filming schedule, which involves long hours under the summer sun at Welford Park in Berkshire, is taking its toll on the television chef

Read More Prue Leith real fashion royalty! Bake Off star’s dress is made of recycled Sandringham milk cartons

Filming for the Bake Off is due to start in April and continue until June. 

The 16th series, which will also see the return of co-judge Paul Hollywood, 58, and presenters Alison Hammond, 50, and Noel Fielding, 51, will be screened from September.

There had been doubts about Fielding’s return after he sparked concern for his health last month when he missed filming the second series of his comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, which has since been dropped by Apple TV.

Dame Prue took over the role of judge on the compeтιтion in 2017, when Dame Mary Berry, 89, stood down. 

She has also outlasted the programme’s hosts Sandi Toksvig, 66, who co-presented the show from 2017 to 2019, and Matt Lucas, 50, who served from 2020 to 2022.

Last week, Dame Prue strutted the catwalk during London Fashion Week in a pink gown made from recycled waste from the King’s Sandringham estate.

Sharing some fashion tips for the older generation, she said: ‘The older you get, the more you need colour. Young people don’t even need lipstick. They just look fantastic in an old sack.’