Prue Leith made a devastating end-of-life confession as she hit out at the Labour Party’s “wicked” inheritance tax. The Great British Bake Off judge, who is passing the baton on to Nigella Lawson for the new series, sat down with The Telegraph to discuss the end of her life – admitting she has an estimate of how long she will live.

Prue, 86, admitted she has been “dishing out” cash to her children and goddaughter while she is still alive to avoid having to pay exorbitant amounts of tax. She said: “It’s nice to see them spend it, and to help with school fees or buying a house. My plan is to keep doing that so that there won’t be any when I die.”

Prue branded the inheritance tax “wicked”, fuming: “Like most people who have made money, I think, ‘For God’s sake, I have already paid tax on that money I earned’ – 45% tax, which is quite a lot. So I really don’t want to be taxed another 40% again when I die.”

Though she “understands” the government needs money from somewhere, and even agrees that “rich people should pay more”, Prue admitted that paying twice “sucks”.

She called his death “slow and agonising”, and voiced her support for assisted dying as she admitted: “Had assisted dying been a legal option for him, he could have died peacefully, surrounded by love and support, with enough morphine to still the pain.”

Ensure our latest showbiz headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

The Bake Off star went on to tie the knot with John Playfair in 2016, admitting she is “so lucky” to have had two happy marriages.

Prue has previously admitted she “hasn’t got much longer left”, joking that John is “close to being her carer”.

She told Mail Online: “I never thought about death at all, but now, in my eighties, it crosses my mind several times a day – not deliberately, just inserting itself into everything.”