Bake Off judge Prue Leith reveals she felt 'suicidal' over tweet outing Sophie as winner before the final aired

Great British Bake Off judge, 77, says she was devastated after revealing winner
During an appearance on This Morning Prue Leith said she felt 'suicidal'
Prue blamed the gaffe on time difference in Bhutan where she was on holiday
Later tweeted an apology to fans saying how sorry she was revealing Sophie Faldo as the winner hours before the final aired

Published: 12:01 GMT, 22 November 2017 | Updated: 15:18 GMT, 22 November 2017

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Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has revealed that she felt 'suicidal' after she mistakenly sent out a tweet revealing the winner of the baking competition.

The 77-year-old, who had replaced Mary Berry after the programme moved from the BBC to Channel 4, sent the tweet revealing Sophie Faldo had won hours before the finale broadcast.

The misguided tweet was swiftly deleted, but not before it began circulating on the web and the surprise was ruined for thousands of fans.

Prue, who was in Bhutan when she sent the tweet, apologised and blamed her confusion over the time difference.

Speaking during an appearance on This Morning, Prue told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield she was horrified by her mistake.

‘I felt suicidal… Awful. The thing that upset me most was that it would take attention off the winner. And Sophie had worked for this moment for months and months and all the column inches would be about that.'

Prue's quirky outfit also got viewers talking. She was sporting a full length burgundy robe and bright yellow scarf and matching trousers, prompting some to suggest she looked like the Dalai Lama, and others to ask if she was attending a Harry Potter Quidditch match after the interview.

Prue Leith appeared on This Morning talk about her new book when she was asked by presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about her mistake

Prue shocked when she revealed that it had been one of the worst moments of her life after revealing the news hours before the finale broadcast

Holly and Phil reassured her that mistakes happen but Prue was still upset about the gaffe and mentioned that the secret had been kept every year for eight years 'until I came along'

New judge Prue Leith accidentally gave away the fact that Sophie was the winner in a tweet sent a 10.37am UK time on the morning of the final

Prue had publicly congratulated Sophie on her Bake Off victory on the day of the hotly-anticipated final – hours before the show was broadcast.

She explained: ‘Do you know that was one of the worst half an hours… It was the most idiotic thing I have ever done.

'I was in Bhutan, I had not had any reception, so when I turned on my phone, there was this mass of tweets. One of them said don’t forget to congratulate the winner after 10.30pm.'

It was then that she rushed to share the tweet and went in to 'panic mode' when she realised that she had revealed the news millions of fans had been patiently waiting weeks for.

Prue explained that she was mortified and was worried how Sophie would react, saying she emailed the winner, who she said reassured her.

'You have to be a real idiot to do that,' she told Phil and Holly.

'We kept it secret, we had kept it secret for eight years until I came along!'

Prue Leith with winner Sophie Faldo and fellow judge Paul Hollywood after she was announced as the winner on the show

Prue appeared on This Morning to talk about her new memoirs but talk soon turned to her Bake Off slip-up, her quirky outfit also drew attention from viewers

Prue's unique outfit drew attention from This Morning viewers as they joked about her looking like she was about to attend a Harry Potter Quidditch match

This Morning viewers joked about Prue's outfit for her appearance on the ITV daytime show, with one asking: 'Why is Prue dressed as the Dalai Lama?'

Others compare her look to the colours worn by Harry Potter's Gryffindor house in the book and film series of the same name.

'Prue looks like she's about to play a game of Quidditch for Gryffindor!'

Former soldier and stuntwoman Sophie, 34, from Surrey, beat Steven Carter-Bailey and Kate Lyon to be crowned 2017's champion last month.

But Prue gave the game away the morning of the day the show was due to air, tweeting: 'No one told me judging a Bake Off final would be so emotional. I wanted them all to win. Bravo Sophie.'

After fans complained in their droves about finding out the winner, Prue then later tweeted: 'I am so sorry to the fans of the show for my mistake this morning, I am in a different time zone and mortified by my error.'

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10.30am