Bake Off fans baffled as beloved judge ‘missing’ from new trailer

The Great British Bake Off is gearing up for its return – but the brand-new trailer sent fans into panic.

The much-loved baking competition has become an autumn TV tradition, drawing in millions each year for a mix of spectacular showstoppers and kitchen disasters.

With the next series just weeks from hitting screens, Channel 4 has dropped a first look at the action inside the famous white tent, unveiling the official host and judge line-up.

However, Prue Leith, a long-standing member of the judging panel, is nowhere to be seen in the teaser.

In the latest Great British Bake Off’s trailer, Joe Wilkinson takes on the role of the narrator, which features a space-themed twist.

The clip shows baking ingredients floating through space before hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond appear as animated characters. 

Joe can be heard joking: ‘From it grew life, intelligent life, adorned in knitwear and leopard print.’

Inspired by the Big Bang, the trailer replaces dust and gas with an explosion of flour, sugar and cakes, ending with the image of judge Paul Hollywood’s blue eye.

At first glance it looks as though Prue does not feature in the trailer, but in fact she is the sun in the animated clip.

But clearly many missed the nod, with one fan writing on X: ‘Where’s Prue?! She better be back or I’m not watching fr [for real].’

‘Eeeerm Prue?’ another echoed.

‘Need Prue to balance out Paul,’ a third chimed in alongside a crying emoji. 

‘Noooo Prue can’t leave,’ a fourth complained. 

Channel 4 has confirmed she will be part of the new series.

They said: ‘As the ovens fire up and a new batch of bakers steps into the iconic tent to face Paul and Prue, audiences can expect all the classic ingredients – warmth, humour, creativity, and just the right amount of competition.

‘This autumn, let the universe of Bake Off pull you in once again. Because, as the trail says, once there was nothing, and then there was Bake Off.’

This year’s series doesn’t yet have a confirmed release date, but it has been teased as ‘soon’.

Concerned fans previously speculated about Prue’s future on the show.

She’s been at the helm of Great British Bake Off since 2017, but earlier this year, she said this year’s series could be her last.

The 85-year-old told The Mail on Sunday she was ‘very keen’ to step away from the popular Channel 4 show before she was pushed, and ‘might stop next year’.

The filming schedule, which involves long hours under the summer sun at Welford Park in Berkshire, is taking its toll on the television chef. 

She said: ‘I’m doing this year’s Bake Off, and I don’t know if this will be my last. I’ve got to stop some time, so I might stop next year.

‘I thought I’d just see how I go this year, because I definitely feel a bit older this year than I did last year.

‘Things like getting out of a chair takes me longer than it used to. I don’t like big steps without a handrail. None of these things worried me two years ago – I could run upstairs – and so I’m very keen to leave Bake Off before I’m asked to leave.

‘But on the other hand, I really enjoy it.’

Prue is also a co-host of US spin-off The Great American Baking Show, and is weighing up leaving that programme too.

She took over the role of judge on the competition in 2017, when Dame Mary Berry, 89, stood down.

The star has also outlasted the programme’s hosts Sandi Toksvig, 66, who co-presented the show from 2017 to 2019, and Matt Lucas, 50, who served from 2020 to 2022.