‘I bought myself a wedding ring! Prue Leith shares her passions and memories with woman&home

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith reveals she was once so determined to get married that she didn't wait for a man to get her a ring!

What is your first memory of baking?

I made a Christmas cake when I was 10and it was a disaster. What I had failed todo was put the glycerine in the icing, sowhen it set it was like concrete. My fatherbroke my mother’s best bone handle knifetrying to use it like a chisel, hitting it with a hammer, in order to get the cake out!

What was the first piece of jewellery you bought?

When I was a very sulky 18-year-old with no boyfriend, I went with my family on a ship to Madeira from Cape Town to meet my brother. He’d just got married, was so in love with his wife and they had a little baby. I was incredibly jealous, so I went and bought myself a wedding ring. It wasa big, wide band, inset with agateof different colours. I had it for years and wore it all the time, but not on my wedding finger! I wish I still had it, but I’ve lost it along the way.

MORE: Easy Great British Bake Off recipes!

What is at the top of your bucket list?

I want to go to the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. It happens over the borders of Myanmar and China and India. The Naga people all come to this festival in the mountains. It’s very difficult to get to and as of yet, it’s fairly unspoiled. I want to go there quite soon. It’s wonderfully colourful – my husband’s been and says it’s fantastic and that I should find some terrific necklaces there.

Prue x Lola Rose collection is available now at lolarose.co.uk and QVCUK.com

Read our full interview with Prue in the January issue of woman&home, on sale 5 December

Jack is Celebrity Content Director at Future PLC, working across the Women's Lifestyle brands such as Woman&Home, Woman, Woman's Own, Women's Weekly and GoodtoKnow.