National treasure Prue Leith sits down with the Mirror for a candid chat about living life well in old age, being a rotten grandparent – and her hopes of a good death
18:00, 27 Feb 2026Updated 18:48, 27 Feb 2026
Exclusive: Dame Prue Leith reveals her best tips on ageing in her new book
Famed for her frankness, former Great British Bake Off judge, Dame Prue Leith has a confession. She says: “I think I was a good mum. I’ve been a rotten grandmother though.” Even since her decision to quit the ever popular Channel 4 show last month after nine years, she says: “I still don’t spend enough time with them. When I look at my fellow grandmothers, they live for their grandchildren. They shower them with attention, remembering all their birthdays. I fail utterly.
“What do I bring to the table? Occasionally I give the children cooking lessons. My husband has a great method of attracting them to our house – he buys really dangerous toys, trikes, motorbikes, no stabilisers. They come for the danger… and stay for us – and lunch.”
Now 86, Dame Prue has five grandchildren, 11 if combined with those of her husband, John Playfair, 72, who she met in 2011 and married in 2016. She has two children, a biological son, Danny Kruger, 51, and an adopted daughter from Cambodia, Li-Da Kruger, 50, from her marriage to her first husband, Rayne Kruger. They were together for 30 years before his death, aged 80, in 2002.
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She is now “very much in love and happily married” to retired fashion designer and tailor John and discusses their romance and more in her new book, Being Old and Learning to Love it, which is out now. She says: “I’d be quite happy to talk about love in old age, if I could keep some of it private. But, inevitably, people want to know about sex. How many times a year, a month? I’m not careful, I’m very indiscreet and my instinct is to tell anyone anything they want to know. But I get myself into trouble. I’m so egotistical!”
Alison Hammond, Noel Fielding, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood(Image: Channel 4 / Love Productions)
As well as brushing up on her grandparenting skills, Dame Prue is keen to spend plenty of time holidaying, now she’s quit Bake Off. She says: “One of the chief reasons I gave up is because it’s filmed in the summer. I want a European summer holiday. I’m South African, I have to get near the sun. I’ve had lovely holidays in Africa, Australia. But I suddenly realised I might never have another holiday in Spain, or Italy, France, or Greece. I’ve cajoled the whole family to come away with me this summer.”
One family member unlikely to be invited is her new Main Coon cat called Sophisticat, or Sophie for short. Displaying hands that have been scratched to pieces, she laughs: “My birthday present from John. I’ve got a kitten now who is an escape artist, and has the sharpest claws in the world and loves to play. I’m completely shredded.
“I’ve been texting Paul Hollywood non stop because he and his wife Mellissa have two Maine Coon cats too. He was the only person I told [she was leaving]. We’re such good friends and we’ve been a double act all this time – he needed to know first.”
Prue Leith and John Playfair(Image: Getty Images for Pimm’s)
Cook, writer and broadcaster Prue Leith (2nd-L), with daughter Li-Da Kruger (L), her son Danny Kruger and his wife Emma pose after she became a Commander of the British Empire (CBE)(Image: Getty Images)
Remaining in constant contact with Paul, she has been touched by the positive reaction to her departure. She says: “Nobody has said ‘good riddance’ – not one person! It’s extraordinary – it’s a cake show for goodness sake. There have been waves and waves of distress at my leaving, which is complete nonsense.”
Very fond of her replacement, Nigella Lawson, 66, she says: “She’s terrific.” But Dame Prue, who invites film crews into her Cotswolds home for the popular ITV show Prue Leith’s Cotswold Kitchen, is not retiring yet. She says: “I love filming at home – I barely need to get out of bed,” quips Prue. “And I get to spend time with John, who tells me I’m too busy and never stop, which to some extent is true. I do like being busy.”
Dressed in characteristically colourful bold striped trousers and matching specs, she adds: “My husband buys all my clothes. He’s got great taste.” With her inspiring joie de vivre, fans may be surprised to hear that, at any given moment, Dame Prue is probably thinking about death. She says: “I think about death a lot. I look ahead and see death. Funnily enough I think it’s something that old people do.
Prue with late husband Rayne and adopted daughter Li-Da(Image: Prue Leith)
“I never thought about it in my 60s, but now it pops into my head most days. Just passing thoughts. The world is going to hell in a hand cart. Either AI will see us off, or war. I was born during the Second World War, and when it stopped we had 70/80 years of peace. But I think, ‘Oh well I won’t be here – let them carry on.’ It’s quite comforting – I won’t have to worry about that. I don’t have long left. Ten years if I’m lucky. I need to use them well.”
A keen advocate for assisted dying, while she is still “relatively healthy,” to the horror of her MP son, she has decided exactly how she’d like to go. She says: “I would like to go in my bed, surrounded by my family, at a time of my choosing. “When I’ve had enough, I just want to be able to take some drug, have someone inject me with something or other, and plan it.
“I want to be ready, I won’t be frightened, my family will know what I’m doing, there will be no surprises, nobody is going to have to find me dead in a heap or something. I’m up against some really strong opposition. My son leads the opposition. And he’s an incredibly formidable opponent. But I think assisted dying, while it might sound extreme, is sensible. A lot of people have an absolutely horrible death, and unnecessarily so.”
The Mirror’s Hannah Britt meets Prue Leith
Hannah and Prue
She blames opposition to choosing when to die on serial killer Harold Shipman. She says: “Harold Shipman – I bet you didn’t think we’d be talking about him this afternoon – changed everything, because he killed a lot of old ladies. But it’s possible to have a good death. Lots of countries have passed this law and nobody has ever tried to rescind it. Four per cent of people in Canada are dying now in this way, and I think it’s proof that it’s a popular bill. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 50% when word gets around how much nicer it is. I feel quite strongly about it.”
Yet, despite all the talk of death, Prue isn’t planning to go quite yet. In fact, she isn’t even considering settling into her dotage. She says: “I don’t like the word ‘retire’. But then I have always loved to work. Though I’m rather hoping this book will be my last. It’s amazing to be 86. It’s a vast old age and I’m quite astonished to be there. People think of old age as such a tragedy. But, honestly, for a lot of people it’s just like the rest of life.
“I have no reason to be unhappy. If I wasn’t happy I think it would be disgracefully ungrateful, because I have all the things that make you happy. I’m comparatively healthy for my age. I sleep well. I eat well. I love well. I’ve had two happy marriages and the second one is still going strong. Both my children are fine, all my grandchildren are healthy. I’ve had a successful career. What is there to complain about? Nothing.”
*Being Old and Learning to Love it by Prue Leith, published by Short Books £20, is out now
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