Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith describes Gambia as a 'Tinder dream for geriatrics'

The cook-turned-novelist says she was approached by strangers offering to be her ‘friend’

(Getty Images)

Prue Leith has described Gambia as a “real-life Tinder dream for geriatrics.”

Desperate for some winter sun, the 78-year-old Great British Bake Off judge decided to escape to a sunnier location with her husband, John Playfair.

Lured in by its perfect climate, no time change and six-hour direct flight, the couple set their sights on Gambia in West Africa but were left shocked at what greeted them upon arrival.

Writing about her travels for The Spectator, Leith says that Gambia ticked all the couple’s boxes but aside from its glorious sandy beaches they were left surprised by what else it had to offer.

“It’s kind of like a real-life Tinder dream for geriatrics,” she explains.

“The beach was full of elderly white European women happily strolling along hand in hand with beautiful young Gambian men.

“And triumphant seventy-something white men living the dream, cocktails or beer glass in hand, lounging about with glamorous black girls on the double beach beds.”

Leith also goes on to describe how, whenever she or her husband walked along the beach alone, they would be immediately approached by a stranger of the opposite sex offering to be their “friend.”

However, she does add that not everyone was there “in search of sex.”

Pru Leith said the trip to Gambia left her and her husband, John Playfair, "surprised (Getty Images)

“Many had been going to the country for years and loved it. But those faithful returners mostly thought they wouldn't be doing so for much longer,” Leith writes.

She details how, ever since British Airways stopped flying to Gambia, that most of the tourists are now on all-inclusive holiday packages.

A move she believes is attracting the wrong type of customer and has caused hotel standards to drop.

“The hotels are going down market, attracting customers in search of the all-you-can-eat-three-times-a-day deal,” she explains.

“Next door to our hotel was a mini-Magaluf, rammed solid with drunken young.

“In its heyday it had seven restaurants; now it has only one for breakfast, plus a pool café, and it is thinking of trapping its clientele with an all-in deal. Sad.”