Prue’s great British rake off
CAN PRUE AND HUSBAND JOHN TURN AN OVERGROWN WASTELAND INTO THE PERFECT GARDEN?
BAKE Off star and grande dame of British cookery Prue Leith shows off her green fingers in this latest series.
She has moved out of the old rectory she has lived in for 45 years, and is ‘downsizing’ (it’s all relative) into a massive, modern barn that she and husband John Playfair have designed and built from scratch.
“I really believe that every 25 years you should have a revolution in your life and do something completely different,” says the 81-year-old. “This is a different chapter.”
The house is built – this is not going to be Prue’s Grand Designs – but the garden is another matter. It’s covered in rubble and overgrown vegetation and doesn’t look remotely like a garden.
She says: “I’m determined to create a beautiful outdoor space that will give us a new lease of life.”
Cameras then cut to John zooming around a lawn on a segway and playing boules.
This is as much the journey of Prue and John’s garden as it is an insight into their life as a couple, as they cut each other’s hair and walk hand in hand through their orchard.
Prue says the secret to a successful marriage is having a “mighty big project” to focus on – and she might just be right.
They set about transporting their beloved Buddha statue, building a gazebo and planting their dream trees. And there’s help of course – to save Prue’s knees.
She says: “I don’t like kneeling down any more, I can’t get up again.”