Bake Off’s Prue Leith calls Britain ‘class-ridden’ and says the nation are also divided on food

Bake Off’s Prue Leith calls Britain ‘unbelievably class-ridden’ and says the nation’s rich and poor are also divided on food

  • Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith has slammed Britain’s ‘class-ridden’ culture
  • Miss Leith compared Britain’s culture to historical racial divide in South Africa
  • The 80-year-old is the mother of Tory MP for Devizes Danny Kruger
  • The TV chef claimed there were linguistic and dietary class divides in the UK 

Prue Leith has called Britain ‘unbelievably class-ridden’ – and claims the nation is also divided between rich and poor when it comes to food.

The chef and Great British Bake Off judge, 80, who was born in Cape Town and came to the UK in 1960, said: ‘This is the most unbelievably class-ridden country. In South Africa there’s a racial divide and that was terrible. 

‘But when I came to England, I couldn’t believe the gradations of class. People were looked down on for saying “toilet”.’

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith (pictured) has slammed Britain’s ‘unbelievably class-ridden’ culture and has claimed that a societal divide exists when it comes to food in the UK

At the time members of the upper and middle classes would use the word ‘lavatory’ instead. 

Miss Leith who joined the popular Channel 4 baking show in 2017, added: ‘There is a nervousness about stepping out of your class – “That’s not for the likes of me.” That’s absolute nonsense. 

‘I remember people saying “You shouldn’t have ideas above your station.” You bloody well should!’ 

Miss Leith (pictured), the mother of Tory MP Danny Kruger (not pictured), compared Britain's problems to the historical racial divide in South Africa

Miss Leith (pictured), the mother of Tory MP Danny Kruger (not pictured), compared Britain’s problems to the historical racial divide in South Africa 

The mother-of-two, whose son is Tory MP Danny Kruger, told Radio Times there is also a class divide in British diets. 

She said: ‘I think it’s true that, generally, educated people have a better life because they know more stuff and they know how to do things.’

Miss Leith, who never buys ready meals, insisted: ‘The people who most need to feed their children nutritiously and cheaply because they haven’t got much money are the ones that have the least education about cooking and food.’