What the Nigella Lawson effect will mean for the Great British Bake Off

When Nigella Lawson was named as the new judge on the Great British Bake Off, the news was greeted with applause, perhaps a sigh of relief, and a general sense of "oh, of course".

Because who other than the queen of comfort food could step into the shoes of Dame Prue Leith, who is leaving the show in order to "work less and play more"?

A self-described home cook, Lawson has been on our screens for more than a quarter of a century, and her bestselling books have sold more than 12 million copies globally.

With the Bake Off mantle - and the announcement of a new Financial Times food column - it seems Lawson is having a moment.

She perhaps represents a refreshing antidote to the kind of cooks whose recipes involve complicated ingredients you have to hunt for in a deli - instead, expect to find Marmite, fish fingers or frozen peas.

Lawson goes for minimum effort, maximum comfort. The milk is always full fat and the butter plentiful.

TV critic Scott Bryan says Lawson is "incredibly qualified" for the Bake Off role, especially as a former judge on Australian MasterChef and on short-lived Channel 4 show called The Taste.

Bryan says the TV personality makes the viewer feel as if they're "around her house for dinner".

"You don't get a sense there are cameras," he continues. "She doesn't take herself too seriously - and there's no denying the fact the innuendo possibilities are endless."

TV's moved on

It was through food writing Lawson became well known. After working in publishing, she moved into journalism, with her first job in food as a restaurant critic.

Her first cookery book, How to Eat, was published in 1998, with Nigella Bites airing on Channel 4 the following year. Hundreds of shows, in the UK, Australia and the US, have followed.

Writer Stuart Heritage, who has had the honour of cooking apple crumble for Lawson, says now "the landscape has changed an awful lot for cookery shows".

"The sort of thing that she used to do, where it would be six episodes and you'd see inside her house, set the pace for what cookery shows were for such a long time," he says. "Now that sort of show has changed, and we get documentaries that are more about food than just straight-up demonstrations of recipes.

"TV's moved on a bit - I think this is a good way of her to find a new place within it."

While Lawson's shows have been watched by millions, her last full series was Cook, Eat, Repeat in 2020, with a Christmas special in 2023.

When Heritage cooked for her, as part of the promotion for Channel 4's The Taste, he says he found Lawson "very full beam".

"She's terrifying - but lovely as well," Heritage says. "I wouldn't want to be a baker who disappoints her, but I can see her being very encouraging at the same time."

Lawson was one of four children born to politician Nigel Lawson and socialite Vanessa Salmon, growing up in London before studying languages at Oxford University.

"She doesn't hide from her privilege, and I think that makes her more accessible," says Heritage. "Her dad was chancellor of the exchequer - it's a hard line to walk, but she's also very relatable."

Lawson has said that growing up in their London home, she found meals "really anxiety-provoking" and she was brought up "in an incredibly old-fashioned way" where if you did not eat everything on your plate, the cold remains were given for your next meal.

Her mother had what she's described as a "difficult relationship with food". Lawson was determined not to be the same, something which changed the way she saw food.

Burrell says Lawson's view of food as pleasure put her in sharp contrast with many of her contemporaries.

Lawson appeared on our screens at the time of 1990s programmes like You Are What You Eat, in which presenter Gillian McKeith tried to help people with unhealthy diets improve their health with better nutrition.

Lawson's "indulgence" came in stark contrast to what writer and superfan Jessica Burrell says would now be called "food shaming".

"There's a common thread: it's that food was an enemy, or something to be wary of," she says. "Nigella completely, authentically, was a significant foil to that."

'She wants to have fun'

Why might Lawson be choosing to make this move now, committing herself to rainy days in the Bake Off tent and tasting 12 near-identical Garibaldi biscuits?

"I think she's just bored - she wants to have some fun," says food writer Gilly Smith, who has been writing about Nigella for more than 20 years.

"She's very British and one of the lovely things about Bake Off is that it's a fantastic opportunity to see what Britain is," continues Smith, host of podcast Cooking the Books.

Journalist Jessica Burrell, who in her 20s watched the TV cook "religiously", is delighted we'll be seeing more of her on the screen.

"It does feel like she is having a moment. And I think there's something really joyful about that, not just because of everything she represents but also because she's a 66-year-old woman.

"It's great to see someone her age having a career moment in such a public way - and she still feels young and sexy."

Lawson has said her sensual image - think close-ups licking a spoon, or Lawson floating to the stove in a dressing gown with hazy jazz playing - is something she "can't trouble" herself with too much.

"Many people, in good faith, misconstrue what I'm saying, and they think I'm trying to do a sort of come-on to the camera. And I really am not," she told food podcast Sporked.

"I feel I have a huge raft of female viewers, who watch the show, who completely get me… What men project onto me, I can't help."

'Amazingly camp'

But as well as being known for her glam, aspirational image, Lawson is anything but out of reach to fans cooking in their own kitchens.

She happily replies on social media when people tell her they're trying out her recipes. And despite being known as the Domestic Goddess, she has said she doesn't feel she lives up to the (ironic) title of her bestselling book.

"When I interviewed her, she said the thing she loves most is when people share what they've made of her recipes and she gets into a conversation with them," says Smith.

Her image is more than just that of a "sexy chef", says Burrell.

"She is also amazingly camp and has a really dedicated fanbase within the LGBTQ+ community and she's had amazing moments go viral," she says.

Bosses at Channel 4 could well be hoping Lawson's arrival will lead to a boost in viewers, for a show that's now 16 years old.

"She represents a kind of originality that could help revive that slightly stale franchise," says Burrell.

Bryan adds: "It's reaching the point where people will apply for Bake Off who weren't born when it started. It's hard to sustain a show for that long. I think she'll give it a big burst of rejuvenation."

Heritage says the only other option would have been for Bake Off to hire one of its former winners - like Nadiya Hussain - that it's been a "star-maker" for.

"I think now, because it's presumably closer to the end than the beginning of Bake Off, it needs a big name to draw people back."

Whether Lawson proves the magic ingredient will be put to the test when the new series hits screens in autumn.

Photography: BBC and Getty Images