The Great British Bake Off has offered a first look at its updated judging and presenting team, featuring Nigella Lawson as the new judge replacing Prue Leith. Lawson joins co-judge Paul Hollywood, presenter Alison Hammond, and host Noel Fielding for the upcoming series.

Initial promotional images depict the foursome appearing to be in good spirits. Lawson is seen in a black dress, while Hammond wears a colorful belted dress. Fielding sports a skull-print shirt and skinny jeans, and Hollywood is in a blue shirt and jeans.

Lawson, 66, was announced as Leith's successor in January after Leith stepped down after nine years on the show. Lawson expressed her excitement for the role, stating it was a "huge honor to be entrusted with it" and admitting to being daunted by following in the footsteps of Leith and original judge Dame Mary Berry.

"The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it's a National Treasure," Lawson said in a statement. "I'm just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity!"

Prue Leith also offered her approval, saying, "I'm thrilled that Nigella is to experience brilliant Bake Off. She's sassy, fun and she knows her onions — and her croissants, cake and crumble."

Leith explained her decision to leave the show was due to a "desire to work less and play more." She noted that filming for Bake Off and its offshoots, which takes place in the summer, had prevented her from taking a summer holiday. Leith, who joined the show in 2017 when it moved to Channel 4, had initially expected to judge for only a couple of years when she started in her mid-seventies.

Paul Hollywood has been a judge on the show since its inception in 2010, initially alongside Mary Berry on the BBC until 2016. The program moved to Channel 4 in 2017.

Lawson had previously engaged fans with an April Fools' joke in April, sharing a selfie with Hollywood on Instagram. In the post, she humorously suggested they were working on a secret detective project in the Ruhr Valley, posing as a hard-bitten detective and a lugubrious forensic pathologist, respectively. The post garnered amused reactions from many fans who expressed a desire to see such a show.

The new series is set to begin filming in April, with the new episodes airing later in the year.