Nigella Lawson joins Great British Bake Off co-stars for first time
Nigella Lawson pictured with Bake Off co-stars for first time

Nigella Lawson has been pictured alongside her Great British Bake Off co-stars for the first time.

The 66-year-old TV chef is replacing Dame Prue Leith as a judge on the Channel 4 baking show after the 86-year-old announced in January she was stepping down from the show she had joined in 2017.

In a picture taken on her first day of filming in the Bake Off tent, Lawson is wearing a black zipped dress next to presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, and her fellow judge Paul Hollywood.

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Filming complete

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”.

Lawson's excitement

Speaking on ITV’s This Morning in January about joining Bake Off, Lawson 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.”

Prue Leith's health and legacy

Dame Prue said on Friday she is “alive and kicking” after being taken to hospital over fears she had suffered a stroke.

She replaced original Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry from the 2017 series.

Lawson's career

One of the most recognisable faces on TV, Lawson 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.

Lawson also became popular in the US, appearing on several food-related shows, including as a guest judge on its version of MasterChef.

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