I was adopted by Prue Leith and instead of Bake Off showstoppers I ate fish fingers and beans and had a 'ridiculously' strict bedtime - but my 'idyllic' childhood saw me take in kids in need

Dame Prue Leith's daughter Li-Da Kruger has shared an insight into the 'idyllic' childhood she shared with her Great British Bake Off star mother. 

The TV personality, 80, adopted then 16-month-old Li-Da, now 48, from Cambodia,  with late husband Rayne Kruger and raised her in the Cotswolds alongside their biological son Danny, 50, a Tory MP.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline Li-Da, who has since adopted two sons of her own with husband Matt, recalled how her upbringing was 'really wonderful' as she grew up in the family's huge home with nannies and 'everything they wanted'. 

But while her mother may have been a top restaurateur and cookery writer, Prue often served very normal dishes that would surely fail to win a Paul Hollywood handshake. 

Li-Da said: 'People always ask "What did we eat?" I do remember we had like everyone else, fish fingers and baked beans, that disgusting frozen fish in parsley sauce'. 

But when it came to discipline, She admitted it was her late father, a South African author who passed away in 2002 aged 80, who was the stricter parent. 

She laughed: 'My father was Edwardian, he was literally born in 1922 and so when I remember my childhood, it was quite strict.' 

'Meal times were a certain time every day, we went to bed ridiculously early, we had to go have sleeps in the afternoon', something that she now jokes 'sounds like heaven'.

'We had rules my father was very regimented but that's not a bad thing, punctuality is important'. 

Li-Da also explained how she was fiercely protective of her famous mother who was catapulted into the spotlight after joining the Great British Bake Off and replacing fellow Dame Mary Berry in 2017, after 11-years of hosting BBC's Great British Menu. 

'It's upsetting, because if you are in the public eye and you get thousands of people saying horrible things, instead of one person saying horrible things'.

She went on: 'So it's upsetting and I want to protect her from that' before quipping that she often tells her mother not to say certain things in a bit to avoid controversy.

Prue, who went on to marry John Playfair in 2016, infamously sent a tweet congratulating the winner of Bake Off in 2017, Sophie Faldo, before the show had aired - which she later described as the 'worst day of her life'.

Li-Da also discussed growing up in the leafy Cotswolds as a Cambodian child and admitted that she 'thought she was white' before looking in the mirror.  

'It wasn't a problem but I wanted what everyone else wanted, which was blonde hair, I asked Father Christmas for a blonde wig I think one year. I just wanted to fit in, because I always looked so differently from my family'.

'I would be asked where do you come from and it wouldn't phase me - because depending on my mood - I would say "I'm from oxford" but then they'd ask "where are you really from?" and that's apparently really common with adoptees.' 

Li-Da said that she recommends adoption to anyone, even those who are able to conceive naturally. 

'Having done IVF and the adoption process, the wonderful thing about adoption is that the re is a child at the end of the process.' 

She continued: 'It might take a while, but at the end there is a child. When IVF is soul destroying in every single way, unless you get a child'.

Asked whether she would be happy to let her own sons meet their biological parents in the future LI-Da said: 'Of course, I think it's so important, it's part of your identity'.

'There should be no secrets, there is a place for everyone'.

Speaking on Katie Piper's Extraordinary People podcast, Prue said: 'I have always been really close to Li-Da, oddly enough closer to Li-Da than I am I think to my son, although I adore him and love him just as much, but I don't see so much of him.

'Li-Da and I have always been very close, but yes certainly we are closer, and she is very good at making sure that everyday I FaceTime or she FaceTimes. So my grandson will not forget who his Nana is.' 

Li-Da knew little about her biological family - her parents were thought to be victims of Cambodia's killing fields, in which more than a million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. 

Her mother had died in a rocket attack while her father, a soldier, had vanished, orphanage staff said.

In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge, whose Killing Fields took the lives of nearly two million Cambodians, marched on the capital Phnom Penh.

Just three days before the city fell, six-month-old Li-Da was flown out of the country in a bassinet beneath the feet of the pilot of a US helicopter on one of the last flights. 

Li-Da traced her birth family, alongside her mother, in  2020 Channel 4 documentary Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter.

During the film Prue said she gave her daughter a self-described 'very English' upbringing and rarely questioned if she could have helped Li-Da connect more with her Cambodian roots.

Viewers were impressed with Prue's honesty at admitting she had perhaps fallen short in not fostering a connection between Li-Da and her cultural roots, and praised the GBBO judge for her 'unconditional love'. 

In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge, whose Killing Fields took the lives of nearly two million Cambodians, marched on the capital Phnom Penh.

Just three days before the city fell, six-month-old Li-Da was flown out of the country in a bassinet beneath the feet of the pilot of a US helicopter on one of the last flights.