Congratulations are in order for Nigella Lawson! The TV chef, 66, has been announced as Prue Leith‘s replacement as a judge on The Great British Bake Off, joining fellow judge Paul Hollywood and presenters Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding in the iconic tent for the 2026 season and beyond.
But behind the scenes, Nigella’s personal haven is far from the Bake Off tent. The star, who rose to fame with her debut cookbook, How To Eat, before fronting Channel 4’s Nigella Bites, owns a £5 million home in the affluent London district of Chelsea.
Inside Nigella’s London pad
The luxurious property is in a mews, meaning her residence is on a small street with houses converted from stables. The Nigellissima star has called her Chelsea pad home for over 12 years, as she moved into the converted stable in 2013 after splitting from her husband, Iraqi businessman Charles Saatchi.
The pair were granted a divorce following 10 years of marriage after pictures emerged of Charles with his hand around his wife’s throat during an argument at a London restaurant. Though Charles initially dismissed the incident as “a playful tiff”, he later accepted a police caution for assault, saying he had done so to stop the incident “hanging over” them.
Since then, Nigella has chosen to keep much of her private life to herself, but she has shared glimpses of her house on occasion. Unsurprisingly, the star, who shares Cosima Thomasina, 32, and Bruno Paul, 29, with her late husband John Diamond, has designed the space to perfection.
© InstagramThe kitchen is clearly her happy place, with its pop of pink sink, deep green Aga, and hanging pan display. Meanwhile, a conservatory space serves as a mini library with shelves of books and a leather armchair to cosy up in.
© InstagramElsewhere, her home is said to have a cinema and a wine cellar. Meanwhile, the outside yard plays home to a fairytale light-adorned pergola and seating area that looks straight from a rom-com.
Nigella’s at-home guilty pleasure
Though Nigella has not shown fans the bedrooms in her home, she has made it clear that her passion for food follows her around the house.
While speaking to The Times in 2024, the TV star admitted that she is “very pro-eating in bed”, adding: “I will eat absolutely anything in bed except something that needs a knife and fork. It has to be either fingers or a spoon.”
Where is Bake Off filmed?
Bake Off is far removed from Nigella’s swish pad in London. It is filmed in the gardens of Welford Park in Berkshire and has been since 2014.
© InstagramPrior to this, the iconic baking show, which ran on the BBC from 2010 to 2017, was filmed at Harptree Court in Somerset in 2012 and 2013 and at Valentine’s Mansion in Redbridge in 2011. Meanwhile, in season one, every week, the tent would relocate to a different part of the UK to align with each week’s theme.
Filming takes place during 10 weekends in the spring and summer, and though the Bake Off tent is not open to the public, you can visit Welford Park when it opens to the public between January and March each year.
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