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Dame Prue Leith has criticised the stigmas surrounding old age during an appearance at the 2026 Henley Literary Festival.
The former Great British Bake Off judge, 86, was interviewed after the publication of her book Being Old…and Learning to Love It! earlier this year.
Explaining her reasons for writing the book, which explores her own relationship with ageing, Leith said: “I got sick of hearing people saying, ‘Isn’t old age terrible?’ It’s just moaning about old age, and people assuming that you’re miserable because you’re old.
“Even when I said to my publishers that I want to call the book Being Old, they said, ‘Oh, you can’t call it that. It’s far too negative.’ Well, I said, that’s why I want to write the book. What is negative about being old? I mean, don’t you remember your teenage years? I could write a book about teenagers and it would be very miserable.”
Leith went on to reflect on her own adolescence and turbulent teenage years.
“I was quarreling with my parents. I was bringing the wrong boys home,” she said. “I didn’t have a boyfriend, and desperately wanted one. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t know who I was – and that was much more stressful than being old.
“Of course there are people who are ill, and lonely, or unhappy,” said Leith. “But if there’s nothing wrong with you, for God’s sake, enjoy it. You haven’t got all that much time left. You need to grab it.”
Later in the event, Leith spoke about finding love again after the death of her first husband, property developer Rayne Kruger, in 2002, at the age of 80. The couple shared two children.
Leith subsequently started dating John Playfair, a retired clothes designer; they married in October 2016.
“It was very surprising, because I had got to really like widowhood,” she said. “You know, it was really miserable when my husband died. I had two years when I was really, really miserable. But then I got to realise that there are real advantages to being on your own.
“You don’t have anyone else to think about. You could be entirely selfish. So I had really got stuck into widowhood and liked it. And then I met John. And the most extraordinary thing is I was exactly 70 years old, and he was 64. And falling in love in old age is exactly like falling in love at 17.
“I was 70, but I had that same thing of your heart going, like a kettle drum, and anxiety about whether he’ll phone or ring or something.”
“This is such a cliché to say it, but I really believe this, that you have to, if your mind stays open to new experiences and enjoyment, and just does it, there’s far more likelihood of you being happy, because if you just sit at home and think, what’s wrong with your life, I mean, there’s lots wrong with all of our lives, but I don’t think we should dwell on them.”
Henley Literary Festival runs until 11 October in the town of Henley-on-Thames. The Independent serves as the festival’s official news partner for the fourth year running.