Nothing in moderation for Bake Off Dame Prue

PRUE LEITH’S fellow dames have been amused by her claim that they’re required to order a coat of arms as a mark of their new status.

‘When you become a dame, you have to have a motto, your coat of arms,’ The Great British Bake Off judge declared on Radio 4. ‘Mine is “Nothing in Moderation”.’

Leith, 83, was awarded a damehood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2021.

However, a fellow dame tells me: ‘The idea you are told to order a coat of arms is hilarious. You only get one if you approach the College of Arms and pay them thousands of pounds for the privilege.’

A spokesman for the college confirms: ‘Having a damehood would automatically entitle that person to petition for a coat of arms for herself, but there’s no compulsion for that person to do so.’

I do hope she has a tasty cake on her crest.