Prue Leith Explains Why She Had A Facelift At 50

For many of us, there are times when you look in the mirror and realise that things do not look the same as they did a few years ago. Cook and Great British Bake Off Judge Prue Leith decided to take action when she no longer liked what she saw.

Writing for the Daily Mail Prue said, "When I was 50 and saw a photograph of myself looking 100, with double chins and wrinkles, I decided on a facelift. Why not?"

Prue explained: "I expected a lot of opposition from my husband, but all he was concerned about was that I should find a good surgeon who wouldn't make me look like someone else. In the end, I had it done in South Africa."

The surgeon concentrated on the bags under Prue's eyes and lifting her top eyelids which she describes as "great drapes hanging over [her] lashes".

Prue said she quite enjoyed the process but that it hurt quite a lot afterwards. Facelifts were not very common in the 1990s and comically Prue shares that people in the pub assumed that she had been in a car crash because she looked so awful.

Discussing her recovery the cooking queen said, "Apart from the bruising, I had purple-black cheeks. This was the result of laser treatment to rid me of all the little red veins that had popped up after years of standing over too-hot stoves or riding in the freezing wind. But the swelling and bruising slowly vanished, and for the first time I could remember I could see my eyelids. The saggy bags had gone and so had the broken veins."

The cook admits that she was thrilled with the results and that choosing South Africa as the location for her surgery paid off in more ways than one.

She said, "When I got back, I had a good deep suntan and I'd streaked my hair blond, so everyone attributed my looking ten years younger to sun and a hairdresser."

Prue also spoke about getting married last year and why she still chooses to live in a seperate house to her husband.

There is a seven year age gap between Prue and John and it is something she is very aware of. Prue's first husband was almost 20 years older than her so she was the 'spring chicken' in the relationship.

Now however she said: "At 77 I am more a old duck trying to disguise my age."