Prue Leith: 'I've had HRT patches on my bum for more than 40 years!'
From The Shift with Sam Baker by sam baker
March 10, 2026 · 56 min · Season 20 · Episode 282
About this episode
Prue Leith discusses her experiences with ageing, HRT, and her new book while reflecting on her multifaceted career.
Somehow it’s the end of our 20th season and I’m delighted to say that my guest today is a woman who has spent the last decade giving us a masterclass in ageing. One of my very own old bird role models, Prue Leith. Now 86, Prue has lived a multitude of lives. Chef, businesswoman, author, food columnist, board director, DBE, campaigner for Dignity in Dying and television host, most recently, of course, a nine year stint on Great British Bake Off, which she quit earlier this year. She opened her restaurant Leith’s in 1969, was awarded a Michelin star and turned it into an empire including a catering business and a cookery school, which won her the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the year. After she sold those businesses Prue became a successful food columnist, author and broadcaster. She has written 14 cookbooks, nine novels, a memoir, and currently has a column in the Oldie. How the hell has she done it? Well lucky us, she’s just written a new book, her 25th, Being Old and Learning To Love It and she’s here to tell us. Prue joined me from the cotswolds to talk about what she loves - and hates about being old. Reclaiming being an ‘old woman’, widowhood, luck, brain fog, why she has…
People in this episode
Host: Sam Baker
Guest: Prue Leith
Topics covered
- ageing
- HRT
- personal experiences
- end of life
- women's health
- cooking
- career
Keywords
- HRT
- ageing
- Prue Leith
- Great British Bake Off
- cooking
- women's health
- end of life
- memoir
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Great British Bake Off, Leith’s, Oldie, Veuve Clicquot, Dignity in Dying
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