Great British Bake Off fans shocked after finding out Prue Leith's age

While the lineup of presenters on The Great British Bake Off may change more frequently than you’d switch up your undies, the stalwart judges have remained the same since the show moved over to Channel 4.

Over on the BBC, Paul Hollywood was joined by veteran Mary Berry, who was replaced by Prue Leith when they hopped networks after Bezza decided to call it a day.

Prue has become well-known for her eccentric style, often accessorizing brightly-coloured outfits with equally jazzy necklaces.

But it’s not always her avant-garde style that steals the show – sometimes it’s her incredibly youthful looks.

Prue often steals the show with her eccentric outfits (The Roku Channel)

Over the years, many Great British Bake Off fans have expressed their surprise over her age, having been convinced she’s about 20 years younger than she actually is.

“I swear during every episode of #GBBO I google Prue’s age and don’t believe it!” one tweeted a couple of years back.

“It's that time of year when we repeat Prue Leith's age to each other in disbelief,” someone else joked in 2021 when a new series started.

Another said they got ‘sidetracked by Prue Leith’s age’, while one said after her Saturday Kitchen appearance in 2022: “Prue Leith certainly looks amazing. Age is no barrier.”

Many people have been staggered by Prue's age (Instagram/@prueleith)

Indeed, back in 2020 Prue happened to mention her age during an episode of the Bake Off, casually slipping in the fact that she was 80.

Now 84, many have pointed out that she’s actually not far in age from Mary Berry, who is 89.

“Prue is EIGHTY years old???” one asked on Reddit after the episode aired.

“I always thought she was closer to 60!”

Someone else thought she was ‘joking’, with another writing: “Mary Berry is 85. I would never have guessed there was only 5 years between them.”

Over on X, one said in disbelief: “How is Prue 80 years old? Drop that skincare regime sis.”

(Instagram/@prueleith)

As for her secret to her fresh-faced looks? In a 2020 Instagram post responding to the wave of kind comments, Prue said: "Thank you so much for all the great compliments about how I look on Bake Off!

"Truth is I’m having a very happy old age, am not averse to fake tan out of a bottle and all the glamour is added by Bambi and Debbie (the glam team) Sharon (wardrobe) and Jane and Claire the GBBO’s stylists!"

In all seriousness, though Prue... please drop that skincare regime.