Nigella Lawson Confirmed As New Bake Off Judge
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The TV cook is 'bubbling with excitement' about her upcoming role
The whisperings were true: TV chef Nigella Lawson has officially been confirmed as the new judge on The Great British Bake Off. She’ll be replacing Prue Leith, who announced she was stepping down from the prestigious gig after nine years. Lawson is one of the best-loved and most recognisable names in British food – but what was her path to stardom? Here’s everything you need to know about the new judge, plus all the details about The Great British Bake Off season 17.
The Great British Bake Off Season 17: Everything We Know So Far
The Judges
Leith has starred on Bake Off alongside long-time judge Paul Hollywood since 2017, when she took over from Mary Berry. But last week, Leith posted on Instagram to say she would be departing the show after nine series (and a whopping 400 challenges). ‘Now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86 for goodness sake!),’ she wrote, adding, ‘there’s so much I’d like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden.’
Lawson was immediately tipped as the replacement, which Channel 4 confirmed today (26 January). Leith has said she’s ‘thrilled’ about the news of her replacement, describing Lawson as ‘sassy, fun and she knows her onions – and her croissants, cake and crumble.’
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Speaking about her new role, Lawson said: ‘I’m uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now. Of course it’s daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I’m also bubbling with excitement.’
She added: ‘The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it’s a National Treasure – and it’s a huge honour to be entrusted with it.’
Hollywood, who has judged the baking competition since the programme launched in 2010, will return for season 17, alongside hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.
Who Is Nigella Lawson?
A food writer, TV chef and all-round national treasure, Lawson is the perfect choice for Bake Off – as Channel 4’s Ian Katz describes it, it feels like ‘the marriage of two great British icons: Bake Off and Nigella.’ But where did it all begin?
Born in Wandsworth, London, food was always a big part of Lawson’s life as her mother, Vanessa, owned the famous J. Lyons and Co. catering company (her father, meanwhile, was the Tory MP Nigel Lawson). But it was during her time at Oxford University that Lawson realised she ‘liked feeding people’. She would shop for ingredients at Oxford’s Covered Market before coming back to her student kitchen to whip up batch dishes like French onion soup (often resourcefully nabbing bits and pieces from other housemates’ rooms).
Her first job, though, was in journalism rather than cooking. Aged 23, Lawson began writing book reviews for The Spectator, and she went on to become deputy literary editor of the Sunday Times. But eventually she left to go freelance, allowing her the freedom to focus on writing about her greatest love in life: food.
In 1998 she published her first cookbook, How to Eat, which was inspired by a disastrous dinner party. ‘I had gone to a dinner party where the host spent the time rushing back to the stove and then could be heard sobbing loudly,’ Lawson told The Guardian. ‘I think that too many people feel that they must strain to produce restaurant food in a domestic kitchen, and I wanted to counter that.’ The book quickly became a bestseller, and she followed it with How To Be A Domestic Goddess – described by Lawson as ‘a book about baking, but not a baking book’.
Lawson became known for her relaxed, no-guilt food ethos, one which shuns rigid measurements and diet culture and celebrates the pleasure of home cooking. ‘I do think the fact that I am a bit of a kitchen klutz, and fit cooking into an already busy life (and I started writing food books when I was a non-food columnist with young children), means that I cook in much the same way as my readers, or viewers,’ she said in an interview. ‘Real cooking, the sort that goes on in homes, does not have to be tricksy or difficult, and I felt it was important to demonstrate that.’
Lawson is no stranger to the screen, either: she has starred in a string of TV shows including Nigella Bites (1999) and Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat (2020), as well as featuring as a guest judge on the US version of MasterChef.
What Else Do We Know About Bake Off Series 17?
It’s likely Bake Off will continue the same tried-and-tested format as usual, which sees a line-up of amateur bakers competing for the judges’ approval in the famous white tent. Each week includes a series of challenges: first up is the Signature (a test of the bakers’ creative flair), followed by the Technical (a high-pressure, skill-based task) and ending with the Showstopper (a chance to go all out). One baker is then crowned Star Baker by the judges, while another is eliminated.
The Great British Bake Off Series 16, Episode 1 (c) Channel 4, Laura Palmer
New for series 17 is an ‘Audience Choice’ week, which sees the contestants taking part in a challenge decided by viewers. ‘For the first time ever, Prue and I are going to be sharing the reins for this audience choice week,’ said Hollywood. ‘We want to give our brilliant viewers the chance to help shape the show, and see their ideas come to life in the tent. People often come up to me in the street with challenges they wish they could see on the show, well now is the perfect opportunity!’ The deadline for submissions has now closed, but you can see which ones were chosen when the series lands later this year.
When Will Bake Off Return?
We haven’t yet got a release date for The Great British Bake Off season 16, but the show typically returns to our screens on a Tuesday evening in September. In the meantime, you can watch previous seasons on Channel 4’s streaming platform.
