Nigella Lawson is the “favourite” to replace Prue Leith as a judge on Great British Bake Off, Channel 4 insiders claim.

       Leith, 84, is taking a break from the show, with sources citing her age.

       Channel 4 is searching for a replacement to front the celebrity spin-off of the show, and sources have suggested that Lawson is the favoured candidate.

       A source told The Sun: “Prue absolutely loves working on Bake Off but filming two series a year can be punishing on top of her other commitments.

       “She has already filmed the normal series, which will air this year but she will not appear on the celebrity version.”

       The source said that as Leith was approaching her 85th birthday, it was unsurprising that she wanted to take some time off after seven years on the programme.

       They added that this would not be the end of her time on Bake Off, saying: “Prue has made it clear she adores the show and would like to come back in 2025.”

       Lawson has experience as a cooking programme judge, and is currently signed up to appear on the Australian series My Kitchen Rules. She has also appeared as a judge on MasterChef in the US.

       In the UK, her last solo series was Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat in 2020, preceded by Nigella: At My Table and Simply Nigella in 2015.