Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith rescued by ‘angry’ fisherman after going adrift off the Sardinia coast

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Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leigh was rescued by an ‘angry’ fisherman after an engine failure set her adrift off the coast of Sardinia.

TV personality Prue Leith was recently rescued by a Sardinian fisherman after an engine failure caused her boat to go adrift. During a day trip in Italy, the Great British Bake Off judge had been relaxing on a motor boat when wind caused her to drift out to sea.

Talking to a national newspaper, the 82-year-old said: “I couldn’t start it and the wind was getting up. I thought, ‘This has the makings of a really bad novel’. People would pass, not close enough to shout to them but close enough to wave and I’d be waving wildly and they just waved back, thinking I was just being friendly.”

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After several hours adrift off the coast of Sardinia with no luck hitching a ride back to shore, a fisherman finally came to her rescue. And while the South African restaurateur was glad someone finally picked up on her attempts to raise the alarm, she said the fisherman was less than thrilled.

“He was so angry with me. He said, ‘You tourists, you risk your lives. You could have drifted all the way to Corsica!’

“And he just gave me absolutely blazes. And there was I... sunburnt.”

Despite being thirsty and having suffered several hours of “absolute misery”, Leith conceded to the angry fisherman, admitting she had been very foolish.

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Prue Leith was rescued by an ‘angry’ fisherman after an engine failure off the coast of Sardinia.Prue Leith was rescued by an ‘angry’ fisherman after an engine failure off the coast of Sardinia.
Prue Leith was rescued by an ‘angry’ fisherman after an engine failure off the coast of Sardinia. | Getty Images

This year’s edition of the Great British Bake Off recently came to a close on Channel 4, and it was recently announced the season would be Matt Lucas’ final time presenting. Who will replace the comedian is currently unknown.

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