It’s extraordinary people are still interested in me, says Dame Prue Leith

Celebrity chef Dame Prue Leith said “it’s wonderful that people still want to employ me” at the age of 82.

Dame Prue built her career around food, first as a restaurateur and chef and later as a judge on Great British Menu, before moving to The Great British Bake Off as a judge in 2017.

On still being in demand, she told Good Housekeeping magazine: “It’s extraordinary. I thought I’d be under the sod by the time I was 82.

“It’s wonderful that people still want to employ me and people are still interested in me.

“But what I’m most pleased about is that I still have the energy and enthusiasm to do it all.”

The South Africa-born chef joined the popular baking competition show after it moved from BBC One to Channel 4, following in the footsteps of Dame Mary Berry.

Speaking about juggling her career while raising two children, the Good Housekeeping October cover star said: “When I had my first child, Daniel, I took four months off and I loved it.

“I thought, ‘This is wonderful, I never want to go back.’ Four months in, with my baby as my sole companion, I suddenly thought, ‘This is not the life I want to live at all. I have to go back.’

“You have to do what’s right for you, but it doesn’t come without some feeling that you’ve not got it quite right because you’re making trade-offs all the time.”

Dame Prue married her husband John Playfair in 2016.

Speaking about his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, she said: “His children call it his mobility scooter because it has two wheels at the back, so it can’t turn over – but I love it!

“We go pub-crawling around the Cotswolds, I do the drinking because I’m on the back, and it’s the loveliest.”

The October issue of Good Housekeeping is on sale from Wednesday.