Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith sparks anger amongst viewers with 'toxic' calorie comments

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has sparked anger amongst viewers who have dubbed her comments about calories “toxic” and “harmful” following the latest episode.

Each week since The Great British Bake Off started in 2021 we've been immersed in the world of mouth-watering bakes, from scrumptious cakes to structural children’s toy biscuit designs. As all longtime fans will know, the more we get to know and love the Great British Bake Off contestants, the more we can’t help feeling more than a little devastated for each one who leaves Bake Off.

This week it was Vegan baker Freya who left the Bake Off tent after failing to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood in German Week. Now fans have taken to social media following the episode as they expressed their anger after Prue used a certain phrase once again this week. 

During the first challenge of the episode, Prue excitedly told Amanda that her German biscuits were so delicious, they were “worth every calorie”. And it’s not the first time in this year’s series the judge has made remarks about calories, sparking a major reaction on social media.

Taking to Twitter, one Bake Off fan wrote, ‘I wish Prue would behave talking about how the bakes are “worth the calories”. Your job is to eat treats how on earth are you making it joyless!!! it’s making me sad #GBBO’. 

'Prue said it was worth the calories' I cannot say enough how much I hate this toxic anti food chat in a FOOD PROGRAMME’, a second viewer stated. 

Other people remarked upon the potentially devastating effect comments about calories might have upon those who have been affected by eating disorders or who have struggled with the pressures of diet culture. 

‘right i b***** love bake off but can prue stop banging on about calories. without going into the issues around EDs, it’s 2021 and we’ve survived a global pandemic, enjoy the damn cake for what it is’, one person declared. 

‘PLEASE could someone tell Prue that ‘worth every calorie’ is a harmful sentiment that she should really not be making into a catchphrase?’ someone else shared. 

Meanwhile, a third person agreed, Tweeting, ‘Prue on @BritishBakeOff AGAIN saying “worth every calorie”… Please this isn’t needed. It’s not funny, it’s rooted in diet culture and it’s everything that is wrong with our modern food, weight obsessed, body image culture.Really unnecessary’.

The Bake Off judge has not yet officially responded to the recent social media response. Whilst Prue Leith's calories remark has sparked a major reaction, other fans also took to social media after the latest episode to express their great sadness at Freya's departure.

The 19-year-old has delighted viewers with her vegan bakes over the past few weeks and now as the final creeps ever closer, fans will no doubt be keen to see if their favourite is going to make it.