Prue Leith joined the Loose Women panel to discuss getting older and confessed to what she struggled with at the age of 84

Prue Leith made a candid health confession as she admitted she is “conscious it’s nearly the end”.

The veteran Bake Off host was appearing on Tuesday’s edition of ITV’s Loose Women when she spoke to the presenters. Prue, 84, and the panel were discussing what the best thing about getting older is. However, she bluntly said: “Well, I think old age stinks.”

As the audience and panel gasped and asked why, she added: “It takes me 10 minutes to get myself out of bed in the morning. If I don’t do the exercises I can’t move. There’s all sorts of things that are wrong with old age.

“You know, you are very conscious that this is nearly the end, though I agree that you then decide that you’re going to make the most of it and have fun. I think what we’re all saying is that we don’t care what people think as much as we did and to be honest I don’t even really care if I’m cancelled.”

Prue Leith on Loose Women(Image: ITV)

She then shrugged her shoulders and chuckled as she said: “So what?” Janet Street Porter then agreed with her and added her thoughts.

The admission comes months after she had previously revealed she knows she is “so near the end”. Speaking at London Fashion Week in November last year, she said hitting her Eighties has given her a new sense of freedom.

She said at the time: “Because I’m so near the end, I’m a bit more reckless. Now, what’s the worst thing that can happen? If I was about to try and get a job on Bake Off, I probably wouldn’t walk down a catwalk in latex with goth makeup on, but now it’s too late. If I want to do it, and it sounds like good fun. I just think, why not?”

On her famously bright wardrobe on Channel 4, she added: “I don’t ever wear anything I don’t want to. My husband is a retired fashion designer, and he’s very keen on colour, so I listen to him a bit.”

Last year, she also admitted her “main concern” about ageing is “not having enough life left to live”, as she still has many ambitions to fulfil. In her 2022 memoir, I’ll Try Anything Once, author Dame Prue, 84, disclosed her desire to turn her trilogy of books into a TV series, and her aspiration to write a baking book inspired by her experiences on the Channel 4 show. But the reality of ageing has made her realise she needs to “better get a move on”.