Prue Leith opens on heartbreak saying 'I'll miss him until the day I die'
Dame Prue Leith has shared a touching tribute, saying "I'll miss him until the day I die" as she spoke candidly about the devastating loss of her brother.
Having become a household name in the culinary scene, Dame Prue's expertise has graced some of the nation's most beloved programmes.
Her career took a huge leap in 2016 when she was revealed as the new judge alongside Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off. Despite her rise to stardom through her exceptional talent in baking, the 85-year-old has recently opened up on the sorrow of losing her "best friend".
Speaking to the The Times, Dame Prue fondly remembered her brother David, saying: "David died in 2012, and Jamie, six years younger than me, died three years ago. It feels like yesterday. He was my best friend, confidant, supporter and critic and he knew what mattered in life: his family were his world, and his friends were important."
As Gloucestershire Live reported, she looked back on his life, which involved several careers, and how he was mostly "househusband" to care for his four kids: "He had various jobs, as an actor, restaurateur, journalist and businessman, but mostly he was a househusband, looking after four children while his wife, the writer Penny Junor, brought home the bacon. He wrote a hilarious memoir, Ironing John: The Househusband's Tale," she said.
Dame Prue continued the touching tribute, saying: "When the children had grown up, he took an office job. When he retired, he said it was to spend more time with his tennis racket, fishing rod and golf clubs. I will miss him until the day I die."
Besides this touching reflection, Dame Prue has been passionately campaigning for assisted dying following David's struggle with bone cancer.
During an interview with Sky News in April last year, she said: "He was spending every three weeks out of four in absolute agony.
"For his family to be round while he was crying, begging to die, begging to be given more morphine, it was desperate to watch."
In the same year that Prue spoke out, UK MPs found themselves debating the issue before casting their votes.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25 to Parliament in October 2024, aiming to "allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life".
A month after, the bill gained approval in a vote by MPs, passing 330 to 275, and moved to a public bill committee for further scrutiny.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Out
an hour ago
- Time Out
Some might say…there's an Oasis pop-up shop coming to Chicago
As Oasis blaze through their long-awaited reunion tour, the Britpop legends have announced official merch pop-ups in select cities—including (praise be) Chicago. After successful runs in the U.K. and Ireland, the pop-up shops will land in North America, with Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and Chicago among the chosen few. Fans can expect not only official tour merch and limited-edition items but also pieces from the hotly anticipated ' adidas Originals x Oasis ' collection. For the vinyl collectors out there, exclusive tour-edition colored LPs from the Oasis catalogue will also be available, each accompanied by a special Live '25 print found only at the fan stores. Rounding out the exclusives are graphic tees featuring iconic Oasis album and single artwork, including Definitely Maybe, (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, 'Wonderwall' and 'Supersonic.' The Chicago outpost of the Oasis Live '25 Fan Store will open its doors on Tuesday, August 26, at 10am—two days before they take the stage at Soldier Field. The shop will be located in the heart of Wicker Park at 1421 North Milwaukee Avenue.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Davina McCall makes brave death admission after undergoing major brain surgery
Mum-of-three, Davina McCall, has opened up about the major surgery she had in November to remove a rare brain tumour, which affects only three in a million people Davina McCall has revealed that she is no longer afraid of dying after her major brain surgery last year. The mum-of-three, 57, told fans in November that doctors had discovered a 'very rare' colloid cyst that affects only three in a million people and would require a potentially life-saving operation. Explaining that her prime concern was her three children before she had the surgery to remove the benign cyst, Davina said her mind 'went into forensic mode', wondering if 23-year-old Holly, Tilly, 21, and Chester, 18, who she shares with her ex-husband, Matthew Robertson, would be ok. Speaking on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, revealing she made an 'end of life' check list, she shared: "I had to make sure that my kids were going to be OK if I did not make it. That is all I really cared about. I knew my partner, Michael, would be OK as he is a whole person, but I was really worried about my kids." It comes as the heartbreaking reason for the postponement of Ozzy Osbourne's posthumous documentary was revealed. Davina continued: 'I went forensic on thinking about my children and where they were at in their life, what stage they were at. You're only as happy as your unhappiest child, right? 'I came to a realisation after about six months of cross-examining them about their life and telling them the whole time how much I've loved my life. "My eldest daughter kept caught on. She was like, 'you are not dying', I was like, 'no, no, no', I realised that they would be great." Ultimately, Davina said her check list, which included three heartfelt letters to her children, was complete after she made peace with the fact that they would survive without her. She concluded: "I am not afraid of dying anymore. It was the biggest journey of my life. It was an amazing time. "I have been on a massive life journey, and I have been through terrible struggles. That is where the learning comes from. "If something really hard happens now, I know it is a good thing." If the operation, which lasted for five hours, had not been successful, Davina could have suffered a stroke or lost her ability to 'hold a short-term memory beyond five minutes'. However, if the cyst had remained undetected, or if the Long Lost Family star had chosen not to have it removed, she could have died 'suddenly' without any warning or chance to say goodbye to her family and friends, according to The Times. Speaking about the removal of the tumour while co-presenting this year's Red Nose Day for Comic Relief, Davina admitted it was 'the hardest thing I've ever been through' as she thanked her family for supporting her.
Belfast Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘I thought it was a prank at first': Coleraine man's delight after being revealed as Bake Off contestant
The new season of The Great British Bake Off will see a return of the Northern Ireland flavour after a former amateur powerlifter from Coleraine was confirmed as one of the contestants. Iain Ross, a 29-year-old software engineer who lives in Belfast with his girlfriend Dervla McLaughlin and their cat Viktor, will be competing for star baker in the weekly series, which starts on September 2 on Channel 4 and is hosted by Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding.
