Dame Prue Leith is set for a big payday when one of TV's most popular shows The Great British Bake Off returns next week.

Dame Prue, who has downsized from the 17th century Georgian manor house Chastleton Glebe, which she lived in for nearly 50 years, to a modern barn near Moreton-in-Marsh, keeps her salary hidden.

However, when she first joined the show in 2017, replacing Dame Mary Berry, her contract suggested she was paid £200,000 a season. 

The judge's current pay is not published but it's suggested to have increased.

Oxford Mail:

She is now believed to have a net worth of over £85million, reports The Sun, gained from selling books, being one of the best chefs in her field and appearing on TV.

Meanwhile it was reported that head judge Paul Hollywood got a rise after moving from the BBC to Channel 4. 

Reports suggested that over three years, the baker earned £400,000 a series, making £1.2million from the show.

However, that contract has now ended and he is likely to be paid more now.

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The hit baking contest which returns next week will welcome 12 contestants including Tasha, a participation officer from Bristol, who is the first deaf baker.

And Dame Prue revealed that she has learned sign language ahead of the show.

She said: “She had a signer, so we all learnt a bit of sign language.

"Paul was terrific and he learnt a lot. I just about managed to learn how to say 'good luck' and 'well done'," she told Radio Times.

Also among the contestants is Sri Lankan-born intelligence analyst Saku, 50; vegetable grower and delivery driver Abbi, 27, from Cumbria; north London deli and grocery manager Amos, 43; east London PA Cristy, 33; and Nicky, 52, a retired cabin crew member from the West Midlands.

Oxford Mail: Josh, Dan, Keith, Rowan, Nicky, Amos, Abbi, Saku, Dana, Matty, Cristy, Tasha

Also competing is Dan, 42, a civil engineering resource planner from Cheshire, Dana, 25, a database administrator from Essex, Josh, 27, from Leicestershire; chartered accountant Keith, 60, from Hampshire; Matt, 28, a Cambridgeshire PE and science teacher, and student Rowan, 21.

This Morning presenter Alison Hammond will be co-hosting the show alongside Noel Fielding, replacing Matt Lucas who joined the Bake Off in 2020.

Last year Dame Prue told the Oxford Mail: "I think people love it because they know what they are going to get. It’s totally reliable. Nobody is going to be horrible. It’s warm, it’s like a duvet blanket.

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"The most stress you get in Bake Off is when somebody’s gelatine doesn’t set or they’re running late and they can’t finish the decoration.

"And it’s a lovely show to be on.

"Nobody believes me when I say this but it’s absolutely true – I’ve been on that show now for six or seven years and I have never heard anyone, none of the crew, anybody, be rude to each other or any kind of row.

"Presumably somebody must have got cross with somebody somewhere but I’ve never caught them at it.

"The whole atmosphere just doesn’t lead to fisticuffs."

The Great British Bake Off returns on Tuesday September 26 at 8pm on Channel 4.