‘This is going to be humiliating beyond belief’: Prue Leith reveals the one Bake Off scene she refused to film

Prue Leith is never one to shy away from frank conversations, and there have been plenty of them since the star stepped away from Bake Off.

With the nation was intrigued by what Prue would do next, fans were delighted to find the cookery legend had written a book about being proud of getting old, titled Being Old...and learning to love it!

While appearing on TV and podcasts to promote the book, Prue has discussed everything from her 13-year affair with her first husband, to the power of testosterone for libido to boost intimacy later in life.

Most recently, while appearing on The Shift with Sam Baker podcast, the star spoke in more depth about her departure from Bake Off, and the one scene she refused to film while appearing on the show - and it links to feeling her age.

Sharing that the thing she found "most worrying" about getting older, was that "I'm not very steady on my pins anymore," Prue recalls the moment it occurred to her that leaving the long-running baking show "was about age," when she was "asked to dance around the field" surrounding the infamous tent, while filming one of the show's links.

The ground was very uneven, and Prue looked at it and suddenly realised, "I'm going to go A over T, and this is gong to be humiliating beyond belief," and refused to film the segment.

While the crew were understanding of her decision, Prue shares that feeling forced to say no to the scene was "the first time I had to say, 'I can't do that'" to something, because of becoming more frail.

That was the first of an increasing number of incidents that made Prue feel a little unsure about how long she'd be able to continue filming the series.

She recalls another incident filming elsewhere, when she was asked to appear on camera sitting down on a picnic blanket. She had to tell the crew she "wouldn't be able to get back up again" when the segment had finished filming.

"Gradually, there have been more and more of those things," she says, including once needing a ramp to get into a winnebago, and feeling increasingly fearful of tripping on the step leading into the Bake Off tent.

While the presenter will miss being a judge on the show, she can't wait to continue hosting Prue's Cotswold Kitchen, because of the level of control she has over it, compared to having little control over what happens on Bake Off.

"I love that little show," she says of her ITV series that has three seasons under its belt. Prue adds, "It's bliss, I don't have to get up at 4.30am in the morning to drive all the way to the Bake Off tent."

"It's filmed at home and John is in it," she continues, alluding to second husband, John Playfair. "She continues, "We decide what to do in it, I have all the say on what we cook and who we interview."

For similar reasons, Prue also looks forward to continuing writing her monthly column for The Oldie - this offers her the same level of freedom and control as Prue's Cotswold Kitchen.

"That's fun because it's only 500 words, which is just perfect for having a little rant or chat, and I can write about anything I like," she concludes.