'It's just imagined people my age don't have sex' - Prue Leith on intimacy in later life

Prue Leith backstage ahead of the Vin + Omi: Dysphoriana show during London Fashion Week — (Image credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

While Prue Leith slowly steps back from her presenting duties, leaving Bake Off to enjoy her summers instead of working through them, she's certainly not stepping away from her faithful brand of humour and honestly.

The presenter has previously spoken about finding love again at 70, and has now openly shared her thoughts about intimacy in later life.

Prue Leith and John Playfair attend the National Portrait Gallery's reopening in front of &quot;The Doors&quot; (2023), a new commission by Tracey Emin CBE RA, on June 20, 2023 in London, England. The 45 portraits of women that feature on the new doors were commissioned especially for the Gallery's new entrance as part of its major transformation. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for The National Portrait Gallery)

"If I came off it now, I'd go through menopause symptoms at 86, which would be horrendous," Prue shares.

She adds, "HRT must save the NHS money, it prevents acute depression, heart disease, strokes, but there's a puritan thing where they think it's wicked to make yourself younger than you are."

While singing the praises of HRT and the benefits of testosterone, there is one thing you won't find Prue waxing lyrical about in relation to feeling younger and healthier: exercise.

She reluctantly works her way through half an hour of exercises daily, as directed by a physiotherapist.

"I race through it, it's so boring," she says, adding, "I lie on my bed and roll my knees from side to side, then I bicycle my legs in the air 30 times."

Prue continues, "Then 30 lunges and 30 leg lifts, then I bounce up and down on my toes until my ankles ache - I never do anything anymore, once my ankles start aching."

Her dalliance with weight-loss drug Mounjaro also didn't fare too well. Prue was a little upset when her husband starting using it, but eventually tried it herself when she saw how well it worked for him.

However, it left her feeling "too sick to eat anything and too exhausted to move," and also, when her entire career has been in the food industry, Prue is naturally a "foodie" and wanted to enjoy eating again.

"I think my body must've had a defensive reaction because it was being starved," she says, suggesting she won't be trying to lose weight again anytime soon.

Lucy is a multi-award nominated writer and blogger with seven years’ experience writing about entertainment, parenting and family life. Lucy worked as a freelance writer and journalist at the likes of PS and moms.com, before joining GoodtoKnow as an entertainment writer, and then as news editor. The pull to return to the world of television was strong, and she was delighted to take a position at woman&home to once again watch the best shows out there, and tell you why you should watch them too.

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