Prue Leith thinks Paul Hollywood is an "absolute genius".

Prue Leith

Prue Leith

The 78-year-old chef is pleased her fellow 'Great British Bake Off' judge was so helpful in helping her settle into the show when she joined last year and is learning a lot from him in how to give concise critique to the contestants.

She told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre TV column: "

Prue said: "He helped me find my feet and I have learned such a lot from him.

"He is an absolute genius when he sums up the judging with few words. It's straight to camera, no 'Erms' or 'Ahhs', he is succinct.

"Whereas I go round the houses with lots of words, so I have tried to pick up on his critique and absorb it. I am not as good as him, but I think I am getting there."

And Prue went on to praise the "really good relationship" she shares with her co-judge.

She added: "We are so settled into our roles. Paul and I have a really good relationship, I followed his lead but now it's very even handed.

"He has been absolutely sweet and so professional to work with."

Prue replaced Mary Berry on the show when it moved to Channel 4 and she's also been able to call on her predecessor for advice and support.

She said recently: "We've known each other for 40 or 50 years. She's a great friend. She called me to tell me she was glad I was doing the show and that I'd done a great job, which was lovely of her."

And the author admitted she was clueless when she joined the show because she'd only ever seen one episode.

She confessed: "I never actually watched it before... I mean, I did see the episode when Nadiya [Hussein] won and thought that was very sweet. But I don't actually watch much telly, which is why I didn't quite get what a big deal it was and how much it was going to change my life."

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