Prue Leith had concerns over adopted daughter finding birth family

·Contributor

14 April 2020 at 7:32 am·2-min read

British-South African restaurateur, chef, caterer, television presenter/broadcaster, businesswoman, journalist, cookery writer and novelist Prue Leith attends a photocall during the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 on August 10, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

Prue Leith was left with some conflicting feelings when it came to her adopted daughter Li-Da Kruger finding her birth mother in Cambodia.

The Great British Bake Off judge already shared biological son Daniel with her late husband Rayne Kruger when they adopted their daughter at one-year-old in the 1970s.

Now, the mother and daughter are appearing together in Channel 4 documentary Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter as Kruger, now in her mid-forties, returns to the country of her birth to explore her heritage.

Within the programme, they find one woman who could potentially be Kruger's mother and while Leith, 80, hoped the pair would be reunited, she also had reservations.

Li-Da Kruger and Prue Leith attend the Future Dreams International Women's Day Tea supported by Estee Lauder at The Arts Club on March 9, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

She told The Guardian: “I remember desperately hoping she was Li-Da’s mother, because I knew how important it was for Li-Da to find her.

"Part of me thought, Oh god… she has a whole family. I’ve had Li-Da for 45 years am I prepared for her to focus on the Cambodia side of her family and see much less of her?"

Kruger hails from Phnom Penh, but left the country as a youngster before the Khmer Rouge took hold and millions of Cambodians died under the regime.

Prue Leith (2nd-L), with daughter Li-Da Kruger (L), her son Danny Kruger and his wife Emma pose after she became a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by the Princess Royal during the investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on October 5, 2010 in Windsor, England. King George V founded the order chivalry in 1917. (Photo by Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The new documentary isn't the first time she's attempted to trace her routes, having done so before at the age of 27.

But while in the process of trying to adopt a two year old boy of her own Kruger was prompted to discover her own history in order to "fill in the gaps" for her son.

Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter airs Tuesday 14 April at 9pm on Channel 4.