Bake Off’s Prue Leith takes savage swipe at celeb bakers ahead of soap star Christmas special
The judge also revealed why this year's celeb line-up is her favourite to date
GREAT British Bake Off star Prue Leith has taken a savage swipe at this year’s celebrities as they gear up to take part in an extra festive Christmas special.
The judge on the hit Channel 4 show had less than complimentary things to say about the band of famous faces heading into the tent this year.
This Christmas, a slew of faces from the world of soap will find themselves competing against one another in order to be crowned Star Baker.
Taking part will be EastEnders fan favourite Dean Gaffney, former Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy as well as ex-Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati.
As well as that, current soap faces Chris Bisson (Emmerdale) and Natalie Cassidy (EastEnders) will also be hoping they have what it takes to impress Prue and her co-star Paul Hollywood.
Reacting to their time in the tent, Prue did not hold back as she savaged their cookery skills.
Speaking to The Suns TV Mag, Prue said: “‘Were any of them really good at baking?’ No… by and large, the celebrities are never any good at baking.
“They’re not there because they want to win Bake Off, they’re there because they love the show.
“The reason they come on is because they love the show, so they’re flattered to be asked, it will be huge fun and they know they’ll meet their mates.”
Admitting that the competition ramped up in the tent as the contest went on, Prue said: “Usually, one or two of them are quite serious. I mean, Shobna Gulati… she obviously bakes, so that was interesting.
“Dean Gaffney was quite competitive. He wanted to win. After a while, they all want to win, don’t they?
“When they come in, they think they’ll just have a laugh. They haven’t practised. None of them have ever practised… well, almost never, and so they come in thinking it’s going to be hilarious.
“Then, they get into it and they find they can do it – or, as long as they obey the recipe, they’ll be alright.”
In another surprise admission, Prue revealed how this bunch of celebrities were her favourite as she actually knew who some of them were.
She confessed that she often does not recognise the celebs in front of her when they compete in the main celeb edition.
Prue said: “I really struggle with celebrities because I don’t watch much telly and stopped listening to pop music more or less with the Beatles or the Stones.
“I don’t know any singers, really. I mean, I’ve just about heard of Ed Sheeran or Beyoncé, but they have to be that famous. So, I very often don’t know celebrity bakers if they’re singers.
“I certainly don’t know them if they’re comedians and, as for influences… I don’t know them, either.
“The lovely thing about this lot was shows like EastEnders, Emmerdale and the Street have been going for 40, 50, 60 years… so I actually know about them.
“I don’t watch them now, but I have watched them at some point or other and I have heard of the bakers.
“I loved having them in the tent. They were so lovely and they all knew each other, of course.”
