
Great British Bake Off's Prue Leith says 'I'll miss him' as she opens up on family loss
Great British Bake Off's Prue Leith says 'I'll miss him' as she opens up on family loss
The Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith has shared her heartache over the "death of her best friend", as she paid a touching tribute to a cherished family member
Dame Prue Leith has shared a touching tribute to her late brother
(Image: PA )
Dame Prue Leith has poignantly admitted "I'll miss him until the day I die" while sharing her deep sorrow over a profound family bereavement.
Becoming a household name after demonstrating her baking expertise, Dame Prue has impressed culinary enthusiasts on some of the most beloved cooking programmes.
While she had already ventured into the world of TV previously, she is best known for becoming a co-judge alongside Paul Hollywood in 2016 on The Great British Bake Off.
But aside from her TV career, the 85-year-old has recently let us in on her private life as she opened up about the loss of her "best friend".
Dame Prue shared how David was her 'best friend'
(Image: PA )
Recounting affectionate memories of her late brother, David, Dame Prue spoke candidly with The Times, revealing: "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."
Article continues below
Reflecting on her late brother's life with great affection, Dame Prue shared insight into his diverse career: "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."
In her heartfelt homage, Dame Prue disclosed her enduring sense of loss: "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."
Aside from remembering her beloved sibling, Dame Prue has also been prominently involved in advocating for assisted dying, fuelled by witnessing her brother David's gruelling fight against bone cancer.
The Great British Bake Off star has been outspoken advocate of assisted dying after her brother's death
(Image: PA )
During an emotional interview with Sky News in April last year, she recounted the harrowing details of his pain: "He was spending every three weeks out of four in absolute agony."
She continued: "For his family to be round while he was crying, begging to die, begging to be given more morphine, it was desperate to watch."
The debate over assisted dying was a significant parliamentary issue in the UK, coming to the fore in the same year Dame Prue spoke publicly about her experience.
In October 2024, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25 to Parliament.
The Bill aims to "allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life".
Article continues below
Following a parliamentary vote which ended 330 to 275 in favour of the Bill, it progressed to a public bill committee for further examination. Updates can be found here.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I landed a massive Netflix role after I dyed my hair ginger
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NETFLIX sensation Leah Byrne has revealed how she became a real head-turner – after deciding to go red. The newcomer from Yoker, Glasgow, has been the standout as DC Rose Dickson in the new cop drama Dept. Q which rocketed to the top of the streaming service's charts. 3 The newcomer has been the standout as DC Rose Dickson Credit: PA 3 Leah believes the highlight of her career came after she ditched her natural locks Credit: Jamie Simpson/Netflix 3 The series is based on the books Department Q by bestselling author Jussi Adler-Olsen But Leah, 28, believes the highlight of her career so far came after she decided to ditch her natural dark locks for more of a copper-tinged Scottish look. She says: 'My hair's normally dark brunette but I've dyed it for about three years now as I just felt like doing it. 'But yeah, since going copper, I think I definitely have a more Scottish look going on that has helped me get noticed because up until now I have mainly been working in theatre.' One of the first major TV jobs Leah landed as a redhead was for Tennent's Lager's Ooft campaign which ran last year in the build-up to the Euros Finals in Germany. And that proved to be a big surprise for the cast and crew of Dept. Q, which was filmed almost exclusively in Edinburgh last year. She says: 'While we were filming, the football was on and the crew were in the pub next to the set when I started getting messages like, 'We've just seen you in a Tennent's ad'. That surprised them.' But playing police cadet Dickson has proved to be her big break as she does not look out of place beside an all-star cast including fellow Scots Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson, Jamie Sives, Kate Dickie and Mark Bonnar. In fact Leah's role alongside Alexej Manvelov, as police station civilian worker Akram Salim, proves to be pivotal in the series which features Matthew Goode as DCI Carl Morck - the cop tasked with setting up the new cold case unit staffed by a bunch of police misfits. The pair even appear in the promo poster for the show alongside former Downton Abbey fave Goode. Leah says: 'When we saw we were in the poster we started texting each other saying, 'We've made it'. It's so cool. A dream come true.' Clash of Clans coming to Netflix in new animated TV series Although Leah's older brother Nathan is also an actor, the pair do not come from a showbiz background with dad Pete working as a postie and mum Liz a retired call centre worker. She says: 'There were no youth groups in Yoker so I used to get the bus into the city where I went to the Scottish Youth Theatre from when I was 11. 'I started those classes because I was the most shy child. I would just cry at the drop of a hat. I hated socialising, hated doing anything but joining the Youth Theatre gave me that bit of confidence I needed.' Leah went on to study at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating in 2019. She adds: 'I met people at the Youth Theatre who believed in me and really pushed me to make acting a job. So thanks to them, I'm sitting here now.' But Leah admits she was left starstruck during her first days on set alongside the likes of Trainspotting star Kelly, who plays therapist Dr Rachel Irving, however, she did well not to show it. She explains: 'I did a self-tape (audition video) about two years ago now, and I remember reading the script and being like, 'This is amazing, this is so big, like, I really hope I get it'. 'Then I got the part which was like Christmas for me, just waiting for it to start filming. 'But when I got the full cast list through, I saw that not only would I be working with Matthew Goode himself, but also it was a list of just about every massive Scottish star there is. 'I remember meeting Kelly Macdonald and thinking back to when I was maybe like seven or eight years old and going to see Nanny McPhee in the cinema with my mum on a rainy bank holiday. 'She was Miss Evangeline. She's been part of my life, and then I was next to her in the make-up trailer getting my hair done. 'Did I mention that to her? No. I just said, 'Hi, how are you?'. But I'm sure if I had, she would have been cool because everybody who worked on this show was lovely.' The Netflix series is based on the books Department Q by bestselling Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, with their Copenhagen setting swapped for the cobbled streets of Edinburgh. And the show certainly shows the tourist capital in a different light, kicking off with an explosive start when three cops are gunned down at a crime scene. Leah says: 'I think that's what the show does so well, is that we're not afraid to go to some dark and quite intense places. 'But I think also mirroring that, there's some really, really funny comedic moments too. Comedy shines through when you're in the darkest of moments.' 'I don't think you can have one without the other. And so I think that's what makes the show so special. It goes from being intense, but then the next scene you'll be laughing about something silly.' She adds: 'That's what I love about Rose and the show in general. She is so colourful. She's like a beam of light that kind of jumps through.' While Leah is definitely one of the country's most exciting acting talents, she is happy to admit that Rose's hairstyle helped her grab the limelight in a show packed with big names. She says: 'I love Rose's hair. That was Lizzi (Lawson Zeiss), our hair and makeup designer, who found this amazing reference photo of a model with gorgeous tight, curly, ginger hair. 'We both fell in love with it and tried to recreate it, but I had quite short hair at the time. So Lizzi decided to just curl my hair and see what happens. 'By the end of it I had this gorgeous mop of curls that just felt so right. I then did a screen test and everyone said it felt like Rose.' And despite her blossoming stardom, Leah has no intentions of going incognito anytime soon. She adds: 'Ever since I've dyed my hair people have been so kind about it. I can't imagine myself without it now. So the copper is going nowhere - it's here to stay.' All nine episodes of Dept. Q are available to stream now on Netflix.


Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Stella McCartney gets tested for killer disease with sister on same day
Sir Paul McCartney's daughter Stella has spoken out about the pain of losing her mum Linda, nearly three decades after her tragic death. Fashion designer Stella McCartney has opened up about the heartbreak of losing her mum Linda to breast cancer and is urging women across the UK to make use of free NHS screenings. The 53-year-old daughter of Beatles legend Sir Paul, was just 25 when her mum died in 1998, aged 53 - three years after she was diagnosed with the disease. Now, in a rare and emotional interview, Stella has shared how she and her sister Mary, 55, go for mammograms together every year - and she is calling on other women to do the same, the Mirror. Her warning comes just a week after British pop star Jessie J, 37, revealed her own breast cancer diagnosis, sparking shock among fans. The Bang Bang singer - real name Jessica Cornish - has been sharing honest updates with her 13.9 million Instagram followers so they can keep up to date with her progress. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Urging women to get tested, Stella said: "I love the idea of going with my sister and my best friends on International Women's Day every year. "I think it is a nice way to celebrate that process. Go and get your mammograms. My sister is my best friend. It is like no other." Stella previously described losing Linda - animal rights campaigner and photographer - as 'the most difficult thing I've ever had to encounter', and admits the feeling of loss is with her every day. Despite her mother passing away 27 years ago, the mum-of-four – who shares sons Miller, 20, Beckett, 17, and daughters Bailey, 18, and Reiley, 15, with husband Alasdhair Willis, says she still feels her mum guiding her every day. She said: "My mum didn't see my kids. I was just 28. It is the greatest loss, especially when you become a mother. I was so young and passing down motherhood, what a beautiful gift. It is just not you not having her and you losing her it is them not knowing her too. Like "She didn't know you". Stella recently praised Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles for speaking out about her own breast cancer scare. She said: "I think it was courageous for you (Tina Knowles) to share your story and I wish more people would share it. I wish more people would have shared that what when my mother was alive, hoping that she would still be alive. So I commend you for talking about it. Everyone should get mammograms. It is all about prevention. It is so important. "I have spent a lot of time at a breast centre in Kettering and I highlight this disparity in breast cancer mortality. I ask so many questions and some don't know they can get free screenings." Today, Stella says the spirit of her late mum Linda still plays a huge part in how she runs her life, both at home with her husband Alasdhair Willies, and in the way she runs her business. The designer - who takes after her mother in her love of animals and refusal to eat meat and uses no leather or fur in creations for her eponymous label - says her ethos is partly inspired by her mother's beliefs. Stella said: "What an influence my mum was. Obviously in my life she guides me how I conduct myself in my business and in my home." But despite the trappings of the McCartney name, Stella admits she is just like any other mother at home, especially when it comes to her daughters who often steal treasured items from her catwalk collections. She said: "I have an 18-year-old daughter but she is now an age when she is stealing all my major clothes. She is like "Can I go into the archive?" and she whips out the most iconic pieces. She is like "Oh that is the 1997 runway." And I never see it again." "But my kids do get mad at me. There is that Saturday Night Live sketch where they say "I am your mother". "My kids always play that to me. But I said to my daughter once "The only mission I have as a mother is to pass on the thing I have learned." My boys are different." And as Father's Day approaches this Sunday, Stella says her children are just like everyone else's adding: "I have to tell my kids like it is Father's Day coming up. I say to them that we don't need anything, We don't need anything so I say to them 'But write him a letter. Make him proud of you.'


Glasgow Times
4 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
King ‘told Conclave author he watched papal selection film'
Robert Harris, 68, was formally made a CBE by Charles for services to literature in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. Harris said it was 'eerie' and 'like an out of body experience' to see his 2016 book turned into a film, and then to see the papal selection process which he had researched in so much detail play out in May after the death of Pope Francis. Robert Harris was made a CBE by the King at Buckingham Palace (Yui Mok/PA) '(It was) very odd, I suppose because I researched it very thoroughly, and really it's the sort of thing that can practically only be done in fiction because you have to have a lot of conjecture,' Harris told the PA news agency. 'And so it acted as a kind of primer for journalists and for people, so that was very strange. 'And then, of course, the extraordinary fact that the new pope watched it on the eve of the conclave.' Pope Leo's brother John Prevost told NBC News his younger sibling had watched the film before the secret vote. Harris said the King also asked about his new book. 'We talked a bit about Conclave, which he has seen,' Harris said. 'He's been reading my books for years, so it was nice to see him again.' The journalist-turned-novelist also joked about how seeing the inside of Buckingham Palace could provide him inspiration for his future books. 'There'd have to be some mystery in the throne room, yes, murder in the throne room! It's got possibilities.' Harris said it was a 'very generous gesture' to receive the honour and he had 'never thought about it' before being asked. Author Dame Jacqueline Wilson was made a Dame Grand Cross for her services to the same industry at the ceremony. The 79-year-old former children's laureate is widely known as the creator of Tracy Beaker and has written more than 100 novels. Dame Jacqueline Wilson was made a Dame Grand Cross for services to literature at the same ceremony (Aaron Chown/PA) 'It feels like a dream,' Dame Jacqueline said on receiving the honour. 'I'm so pleased, so proud. 'I was just totally taken by surprise. To be utterly truthful, I didn't even know this particular honour existed. I'm so proud and so overwhelmed. 'If little girl Jacqueline could be told that I'd be standing outside Buckingham Palace with medals and a sash, she would have been astonished.' Dame Jacqueline said the King was 'jovial' and they laughed about getting her sash on over her 'silly hat'. 'And I did thank him, and particularly also thanked Her Majesty the Queen, because she takes such an interest in children's literature, and that makes all of us writers feel very pleased,' she said. Last year, Dame Jacqueline released her first adult novel since the 1970s as she returned to her beloved Girls series. The novel, Think Again, was nominated at this year's British Book Awards.