Leith admitted to being 'very excited' to have Schwimmer on the Stand Up to Cancer charity special.
Prue Leith was hoping for a friendlier reception when she first met Friends star David Schwimmer on the set of The Great British Bake Off's Stand Up to Cancer celebrity special. The 56-year-old actor is set to appear on the fundraiser, which helps to raise money for charity and will air in the U.K. on Sunday, March 19.
In an interview with the U.K. publication The Mirror, Leith described Schwimmer as "the most famous person we had in the tent" for the special, which included fellow stars, Tom Daley, former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, Rose Matafeo, Adele Roberts, Coleen Nolan, Gemma Collins and Paddy McGuinness.
The 83-year-old chef and judge on the hit series admitted to being "very excited" to have the TV star on the show. "What I was surprised about, though, was I thought he’d behave like he behaved as Ross, he'd be like he was in Friends, but he was actually very concentrated and didn't want to talk to anybody," she shared. "He just wanted to get on baking and he badly wanted to win. He loosened up after a while."
Without revealing the final results of the competition, Leith said of Schwimmer, "I had no expectations for him at all on the food front and so I was very, very impressed. I think his daughter -- who is a Bake Off fan and a vegan -- influences him a lot. He turned out to be much more [knowledgeable] about food than I thought he would be. He was great."
Schwimmer shares 11-year-old daughter Cleo with his ex-wife Zoe Buckman. In a comment to ET, Schwimmer hilariously didn't deny that he was completely focused on the competition.
"Indeed - GUILTY. No time to socialize as I was much too focused on the bake, the timer, trying to convert the temperature from Farenheit to Celcius and my measurements from U.S. to metric. I play to win!," he shared.
Schwimmer previously told The Mirror that he had a personal investment in the Stand Up to Cancer cause. “I lost a grandmother to cancer, my daughter lost a grandmother to cancer, and my sister is a cancer survivor, so it’s important to me," he shared. "I am just grateful I can help in any small way raise more awareness. I am here to have fun. I am here to raise money for a great charity. It’s a great cause and I happen to be a massive fan of the show."
As for this latest edition of the long-running baking competition, Leith added, "Do you know I think this has been the best celebrity Bake Off so far. For me, anyway. And it’s odd, because I am so old, I often don’t know who the younger musicians and comedians and sports people are. But I just loved it because I thought they were a terrific bunch -- some of them very famous -- and all of them seemed to get on well."
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