TV legend rushed to hospital after husband calls ambulance

The Great British Bake Off star, who lives in the Cotswolds, has revealed details of a frightening health scare which saw her taken to hospital amid concerns she may have been suffering a stroke.

Dame Prue, 86, was staying in Yorkshire when she experienced what she recognised as a migraine attack, but her symptoms alarmed husband John Playfair.

Writing in her column Prue’s News for the September edition of The Oldie magazine, she explained that the episode affected both her vision and her speech.

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She wrote: “A few weeks ago, staying in Yorkshire, I had a migraine attack.”

Describing the onset of her symptoms, Dame Prue said: “First, I can see only half of whatever I’m looking at.”

She added: “This is speedily followed by a bright circle of flickering, coloured lights in the upper right field of vision.”

The television personality said her condition then left her struggling to communicate, with what she described as an “incomprehensible jumble of disconnected words”.

Dame Prue recalled: “I tried to tell him it was just a migraine, but I couldn’t string two words together.”

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Her husband contacted medical professionals, who decided she should be taken to Harrogate Hospital for further checks.

She underwent a series of assessments and later received a precautionary CT scan before being discharged in the early hours of the morning.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Dame Prue said: “I knew all along that all I had was a migraine.”

She added: “But since the speech problem is a classic symptom of a stroke, and my extreme old age being a time when mini-strokes are common, everyone was determined to be safe not sorry.”

The Bake Off favourite also praised NHS staff, describing those who treated her as “cheerful, sympathetic, polite, helpful and professional”