Celebrity Bake Off's new judge tipped to replace Prue Leith revealed after she steps back from specials
There's a new chef in the tent.
There's a new judge in the tent! Cherish Finden will reportedly be joining the upcoming season of The Great Celebrity Bake Off next year, following Prue Leith's exit from the celebrity series.
Earlier this year, the celebrity edition returned with Caroline Waldegrave joining Paul Hollywood as a judge, but it seems the future season will have a different familiar face instead.
Finden is no stranger to Bake Off fans, having been a judge on Bake Off: The Professionals since its inception in 2016. The multi-award-winning pastry chef has worked at the likes of Raffles Hotel and The Sheraton in her career, while currently working at The Langham as its executive pastry chef.
RadioTimes.com has reached out to Channel 4 for comment on the news (first reported by The Sun).
Prue Leith stepped back from presenting the celebrity series due to its demanding filming schedule, but has remained a judge on the civilian edition of the show.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday earlier this year about her time on Bake Off, Leith 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."
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She was replaced by Waldegrave, who is a long-time friend of Leith's, in the latest season but was admittedly "terrified" about taking the helm as judge.
But that fear soon eased, as she explained: "When I turned up, I went to the shepherd's hut I was allotted and there were banners outside saying 'Welcome!' and flowers.
"And that's what Love Productions was like all the way through. Everyone from the runners to Paul was just so kind and so friendly that I did relax."
Celebrity Bake Off will return to Channel 4 next year.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
