Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith finally responds to fans’ biggest complaint about her judging

PRUE Leith has spoken out about the backlash she faced in response to a calorie-related comment made earlier this year.

The Great British Bake Off judge, 81, came under fire back in October after campaigners called out her comments about calories.

Pro baker Prue has often brought up whether or not different bakes are “worth the calories”, but it hasn’t gone down well with fans of the Channel 4 show.

Eating disorder charity Beat shone a light on Prue’s potentially harmful comments, urging the channel to take a closer look at the language used on the show, after viewers branded the judge’s comments “toxic” and “triggering”.

Now, the star has responded to the comments for the first time and is considering changing the way she speaks about contestants’ bakes.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Prue was asked about the calorie comment, responding with: “I don’t know why I say it!”

She explained: “It’s just an expression of how much I love something – ‘Oh, this is worth every calorie – I’ll say.”

The judge made it clear there was no bad intention meant by her comments, but that she is aware of what Beat has suggested.

Prue continued: “Beat, you know, they are a charity that tries to tackle eating disorders.

“They say that I mustn’t say it because people then, people who have an eating disorder, feel guilty, feel unhappy, and so they’ll eat more.”

She concluded: “So perhaps I’ll stop saying it.”

Earlier this year, Beat’s Tom Quinn told The Telegraph: “Mentions of calories can be triggering to people with or vulnerable to an eating disorder.”

He added that “Talk of food being ‘worth the calories’ is very unhelpful.

“We would strongly encourage Channel 4 to be conscious about the way food and exercise is discussed, for instance not mentioning calories or specific weights, in order to protect their audience.”