Fans of The Great British Bake Off have breathed a sigh of relief after finding out when judge Dame Prue Leith is going to return.

Last night, the celebrity version of the Channel 4 show made its return for Stand Up to Cancer for the first of five special episodes.

The latest instalment saw married comedians Chris and Rosie Ramsey enter the tent, going up against siblings Scarlette and Stuart Douglas.

The episode also marked the debut of new judge Caroline Waldegrave, 72, who stepped into replace Dame Prue, 85, alongside longtime judge Paul, 59.

In January this year, it was announced that Caroline would be taking up the role of judge on Celebrity Bake Off, with Dame Prue set to return to the main series.

Some fans who weren’t fully clued up admitted they were worried that the latter had left the show for good… but thankfully, other viewers were on hand to reassure them.

‘Phew! I thought she was gone for good,’ one fan called Canadian.katt wrote on Instagram in response to being told that Dame Prue would eventually return.

Another fan called Ryan wrote on X: ‘I hope Prue is back for the main series later in the year,’ to which @xpinkpixiedollx replied: ‘She is lovely she said that herself it’s just for the celebrity series that she’s decided to step down.’

Several people praised Caroline for her debut, with @samgio1997 remarking that they thought that she was a ‘good judge’.

‘Welcome Caroline Waldegrave …a lovely addition to the GBBO family!’ @Liabrx_73 shared, while @Joanring1 added: ‘Great show. Well done Caroline on your Bake Off debut.👏.’

Dame Prue, 85, has been a judge on Bake Off since 2017, replacing predecessor Dame Mary Berry when the show moved from BBC2 to Channel 4.

In that time, she’s seen hosts come and go (goodbye Mel and Sue, hello and goodbye Sandi Toksvig and Matt Lucas—all replaced by current hosts Noel Fielding and Brummie icon Alison Hammond) and, along with Paul, is now a part of the Bake Off furniture.

Some people who watched Celebrity Bake Off last night were initially confused about where Dame Prue had gone.

Writing on social media as the episode began, fans shared their sense of bewilderment at the upset with the status quo.

‘No no no no im not liking this already where is our prue!!!!!!’ exclaimed guildedmagnolioa on X.

‘Where’s Prue?’ asked Z1OC_X.

‘Hope Prue is back for the main series later in the year,’ commented Ryanthesoapking.

‘Who’s this new Prue?!’ exclaimed jennielouu.

Dame Prue recently revealed that she would be stepping back from the celebrity versions of the show to explore other avenues.

‘I’m not doing the celebrity one this year, and it’s mainly because these things are filmed back-to-back the whole way through the summer,’ she explained on This Morning.

‘You start in April, and you end in August, and honestly, you get no time off. And so, I’m getting a bit old and there are places I want to go to and other things I want to do.’

In a statement to Metro, she added that she ‘absolutely loves working on Bake Off and [is] looking forward to filming the next series and meeting [the] new bakers’.

Stepping into Dame Prue’s big shoes is her longtime friend, Lady Caroline OBE. The pair first met in the 1970s, when Caroline applied for a job at the Bake Off judge’s catering company.

The businesswoman, chef, and cookbook author is also the former managing director of Leiths School of Food and Wine, one of the country’s most prestigious cookery schools.

In 2000, she was awarded an OBE for services to the UK catering industry.

Since retiring in 2009, she has appeared in such TV shows as Chef School, MasterChef, and Tricks of the Trade.

When her Bake Off role was announced, she wrote on Instagram: ‘The news is out! I’m thrilled to announce that I will be one of the judges for this series @britishbakeoff @su2cuk.’

Making her Celebrity Bake Off debut, Caroline oversaw as comedian Chris took home the win with handshake-winning banana scones and a birthday cake showstopper.

Elsewhere, former I’m A Celebrity contestant Scarlette surprised the judges with a chocolate cake containing meal and buffalo worms, among the other ingredients.

Famous faces still to appear on the coming batch of episodes include Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg, Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway, presenter Sarah Beeny, Loose Women’s Gloria Hunniford OBE and radio presenter Roman Kemp.

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer airs on Channel 4 on Sundays at 7:40pm.

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