Channel 4 has promised Nigella Lawson will bring “warmth, wit and passion” to The Great British Bake Off, as she was pictured with her co-stars for the first time. The 66-year-old TV chef has replaced Dame Prue Leith as a judge on the baking show after the 86-year-old announced in January she was stepping down from the programme she had joined in 2017.
First Day in the Tent
In a picture taken on her first day of filming in the Bake Off tent, Nigella is wearing a black zipped dress next to presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, and her fellow judge Paul Hollywood. Filming is complete on the series, which will air from next month.
Channel 4 said fans of the show "can expect to see Nigella bringing her trademark warmth, wit and passion for flavour to the tent."
Nigella's Excitement and On-Set Reports
Speaking on ITV's This Morning in January about joining Bake Off, Nigella said: "I am excited, but I take it very seriously. The thing about Bake Off is that it's about the programme - which is an institution of national treasure status - and it's about the bakers, and I just want to be there and be a part of it."
In July, after filming had begun, one report suggested Paul Hollywood and Nigella were “not getting on too well”. But a Channel 4 source dismissed this and said Nigella was more than holding her own in the tent in her debut series alongside Paul, who has been on the show since it first began on the BBC in 2010.
Source Praises Nigella's Impact
A Channel 4 source said Nigella had “dazzled” some of the new contestants and they were now excited for viewers to see the new series. The insider said: “Nigella has been a breath of fresh air, and it is great to have her on board with a wealth of TV and baking experience. Filming in the tent was very hot at times this summer, but contrary to some reports, no one boiled over and there were no major issues.
“In fact, Nigella could well be the new ingredient we need to keep the show a ratings winner on the channel. She brings a new twist to Bake Off and offers something different to what we have had before.”
Paul and Nigella have also agreed to do a promotion together for the new series, including an on-stage conversation with each other, which is likely to show their working relationship is solid.
Nigella's Career Highlights
One of the most recognisable faces on TV, Nigella became a household name in the late 1990s with her hugely successful cookbooks and cookery shows. The Oxford graduate worked as a journalist before becoming a food writer. Her first cookery book, How To Eat, became a bestseller, while her follow-up, How To Be A Domestic Goddess - described as the book that "kick-started the cupcake revolution" - was also hugely successful, winning her the British Book Award for author of the year in 2001.
TV work followed, starting with the Channel 4 show Nigella Bites, before she crossed over to ITV and then the BBC. Nigella also became popular in the US, appearing on several food-related shows, including as a guest judge on its version of MasterChef.
Former judge Dame Prue said on Friday she is "alive and kicking" after being taken to hospital over fears she had suffered a stroke. She had replaced original Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry from the 2017 series.
