Who Is Nigella Lawson? Get to Know Prue Leith’s Rumored ‘Great British Baking Show’ Replacement

A new face may be headed to The Great British Baking Show (a.k.a. The Great British Bake Off) following news of judge Prue Leith‘s exit.

It was revealed on Wednesday, January 21, that Leith would be stepping down from the U.K. baking competition series after nine seasons. “Our wonderful Prue has decided to step away from judging Bake Off,” the show announced via its Instagram page. “From joyful judging to colourful fits to accidental innuendoes, you are simply the best and will be so missed. Please join us in wishing Prue the very best and thanking her for nine brilliant years in the Tent ❤️.”

In an Instagram statement of her own, Leith wrote, “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 [Hollywood], Alison [Hammond] and Noel [Fielding] and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4.”

She continued, “But 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.”

Shortly after news of Leith’s exit broke, multiple outlets reported that Nigella Lawson was in final talks to take over her role as Hollywood’s co-judge. The show’s network, Channel 4, has not publicly confirmed Lawson’s casting.

Scroll down to get to know Lawson ahead of her rumored Great British Baking Show debut.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for SOBEWFF®

Does Nigella Lawson have TV hosting experience?

Lawson has been a TV staple since her debut cooking show, Nigella Bites, premiered on Channel 4 in the U.K. in 1999. Lawson’s self-titled series, Nigella, launched in 2005, and she has gone on to host shows and specials such as Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen, Nigella Express, Nigella Feasts, Nigella Kitchen, Nigellissima, The Taste, Simply Nigella, Nigella: At My Table, Nigella’s Amsterdam Christmas, and more.

Like many TV cooking personalities, Lawson has also showed off her culinary skills and personality on several shows in the U.S. and U.K., including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, This Morning, Live With Regis and Kelly, The Wendy Williams Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Talk, Today, Rachael Ray, and The Graham Norton Show, among many others.

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What else has Nigella Lawson done in the culinary world?

Before making her TV hosting debut with Nigella Bites, Lawson released her first cookbook, How to Eat, in 1998. She has gone on to release over a dozen cookbooks over the years. Her latest book, Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes, and Stories, was published in 2020.

Lawson also regularly shares recipes via her website, as well as photos of her delicious dishes via her Instagram profile.

In addition to earning several accolades for her work, Lawson has also dipped her toes into the acting world. She appeared in a Season 6 episode of Modern Family as the voice of a culinary app Phil (Ty Burrell) listens to while cooking a turkey.

Is Nigella Lawson married?

Lawson shares her two kids — Cosima, 32, and Bruno, 29 — with her first husband, John Diamond. The pair were married from 1992 to 2001, after which she went on to wed Charles Saatchi. The couple were together for a decade before splitting in 2013. Her later father Nigel Lawson was a leading Conservative politician in Britain and a member of Margaret Thatcher‘s government.

The Great British Baking Show, Streaming Now, Netflix