Dame Prue Leith has said she is “alive and kicking” after being taken to hospital over fears she was having a stroke.
The former Great British Bake Off judge, 86, was on holiday in Yorkshire when she suffered a migraine that left her struggling to speak. Her husband John Playfair became worried about her symptoms and called their doctor, who then called an ambulance.
Health Scare Detailed in Magazine Column
Dame Prue shared a photo of herself smiling as she enjoyed a dessert on Friday as she assured her fans she is in good health now. She wrote: “For those that have messaged me, I wrote a piece of @theoldiemagazine about my trip to hospital a couple of months ago. I was fine shortly after and am very much alive and kicking now!”
Dame Prue detailed her health scare in her column for The Oldie magazine, writing: “A few weeks ago, staying in Yorkshire, I had a migraine attack. It followed a familiar path. First, I can see only half of whatever I’m looking at. This is speedily followed by a bright circle of flickering, coloured lights in the upper right field of vision. If I don’t swiftly swallow one of my migraine ‘bombs’ (three pills: paracetamol, ibuprofen and sumatriptan), a crashing headache will follow.”
Hospital Experience and Praise for NHS
After being taken to hospital, Dame Prue said she had to wait hours before she was seen by a doctor. She then underwent a CT scan and eventually left hospital after 10 hours. The star praised the NHS workers who helped care for her and wrote: “You may have to wait for ever. But when it is your turn, you are treated as if you were the only patient in A&E, with concern and patience.”
Writing about the attention paid to her health, she added: “I knew all along that all I had was a migraine. But since the speech problem is a classic symptom of a stroke, and my extreme old age being a time when mini strokes are common, everyone was determined to be safe, not sorry.”
Bake Off Career and Honours
Dame Prue became a judge on The Great British Bake Off in 2017, replacing original judge Mary Berry. She announced in January that she had left the programme and, a few days later, Nigella Lawson was confirmed as her replacement. Dame Prue was made a dame in 2021 for her services to food, broadcasting and charity.
