Le Journal

Our political words—like ‘conservatism’—actually need to mean something.

Fan-favorite Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has announced her time judging the bake offs has come to an end. “After nine series and judging more than 400 challenges, I have decided to step down as a judge on The Great British Bake Off,” Leith writes on Instagram today. “Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years, I have genuinely loved it and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison and Noel and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4. But now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86 for goodness sake!), there’s so much I’d like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden. Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.” --> Leith joined the show back in 2017 after stints on the other series The Great British Menu and My Kitchen Rules. Leith has been a chef since the 1960s, opening her own Michelin-starred restaurant in London in 1969. The chef admitted she was skeptical about joining a reality cooking show at first because “I’m not very good at watching telly,” she told Delish in 2024. “And especially hadn’t ever really watched food programs. The last thing I wanted to watch was more food because I spent all day with food.” Now, she can spend her day doing whatever she wants.

Fan-favorite Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has announced her time judging the bake offs has come to an end. “After nine series and judging more than 400 challenges, I have decided to step down as a judge on The Great British Bake Off,” Leith writes on Instagram today. “Bake Off has been a fabulous part of my life for the last nine years, I have genuinely loved it and I’m sure I’ll miss working with my fellow judge Paul, Alison and Noel and the teams at Love Productions and Channel 4. But now feels like the right time to step back (I’m 86 for goodness sake!), there’s so much I’d like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden. Whoever joins the team, I’m sure they’ll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.” --> Leith joined the show back in 2017 after stints on the other series The Great British Menu and My Kitchen Rules. Leith has been a chef since the 1960s, opening her own Michelin-starred restaurant in London in 1969. The chef admitted she was skeptical about joining a reality cooking show at first because “I’m not very good at watching telly,” she told Delish in 2024. “And especially hadn’t ever really watched food programs. The last thing I wanted to watch was more food because I spent all day with food.” Now, she can spend her day doing whatever she wants.

The first few weeks of 2026 have already brought some new people into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. The institution revealed its 2026 class today, which includes the immediately recognizable names of Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, Kenny Loggins, and Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS. Also to be inducted are songwriters Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (who has written hits for the likes of Beyoncé and Rihanna), Terry Britten & Graham Lyle (who wrote notably for Tina Turner), and Walter Afanasieff (who often worked with Mariah Carey in the 1990s). The news was first announced on CBS Mornings today with clips showing some of the hits of each of the inductees. Also of note is the fact that Swift becomes the youngest person ever inducted into the Hall Of Fame. The official induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 11 in New York, which Gayle King points out is a couple days before Swift’s rumored (at least as far as we know) wedding. Busy week! You can watch CBS’ segment on the songwriters and see which songs each submitted for consideration below. Walter Afanasieff *”All I Want For Christmas Is You” * “My All” * “Hero” * “Love Will Survive” * “One Sweet Day” * Terry Britten and Graham Lyle --> * “What’s Love Got To Do With It” * “We Don’t Need Another Hero” * “Typical Male” * “Devil Woman” * “I Should Have Known Better” * Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS * “Rock and Roll All Nite” * “I Love It Loud” * “Calling Dr. Love” * “Shout It Out Loud” * “Christine 16″* Kenny Loggins *Danny’s Song” * “Footloose” * “Celebrate Me Home” * “Return to Pooh Corner” * “What A Fool Believes” * Alanis Morissette * “You Oughta Know” * “Ironic” * “Hand in My Pocket” * “Thank U” * “Uninvited” * Christopher “Tricky” Stewart * “Umbrella” * “Single Ladies” * “Obsessed” * “Just Fine” * “Break My Soul” * Taylor Swift * “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” * “Blank Space” * “Anti-Hero” * “Love Story” * “The Last Great American Dynasty” *