Mary Berry is undeniably a national treasure with a huge variety of cookbooks and television appearances. The TV chef will be appearing on various BBC shows this festive season with a re-run of Mary Berry's Ultimate Christmas on Thursday (December 7) and a new show called Mary Berry's Highland Christmas which airs on Wednesday, December 13.
She has been a star on the small screen for decades, long before she was ever a judge on The Great British Bake Off, a role she quit in 2016 when the original BBC show switched to Channel 4. She cited her loyalty to the BBC as being a reason she departed the series along with former hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Since her Bake Off departure, Mary hasn't been short of work as she's starred in a long list of other television shows. And as she's back on screen over the festive period, now is the perfect time to take a peek into the adored celeb chef's life away from the spotlight.
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Mary Berry was born on March 24, 1935 in Somerset, making her 88. At the age of 13, she contracted polio.
The sickness caused her to have to spend months in the hospital. At first, medical professionals thought the budding chef had come down with a bad case of flu, but soon Mary's condition worsened and she was heartbreakingly kept in isolation from her parents.
Writing in her 2013 autobiography, Berry recalled: "I just couldn’t understand why Mum wasn’t coming in to give me a cuddle, to talk to me and comfort me. It must have been terribly upsetting for them." For Mary, polio affected her left side, leaving her with a twisted spine and weaker and thinner arm and hand.
But despite the long lasting damage to her body, Berry thinks of herself as "immensely fortunate". She added: "I only had it on my left side and I’ve got a funny left hand. Everybody thinks I’ve got arthritis. I look a bit funny when I’m rolling pastry but I have no other difficulties whatsoever. I mean, I’m not as good at sport as I was, but I was let off very lightly. I’m grateful."
Mary's rise to stardom
Mary is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and became the cookery editor of Housewife magazine back in the 1960s. She then went on to edit Ideal Home magazine before stepping in front of the camera on the 70s show Afternoon Plus with Judith Chalmers.
Throughout the 80s, she went on to film a TV series for the BBC as well as writing more cookbooks. Since then, Mary has fronted a catalogue of TV shows over the years.
She's starred in Mary Berry's Ultimate Christmas, Mary Berry Story, Mary Berry Cooks, Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites, Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking, Mary Berry Everyday, and Classic Mary Berry.
She has also starred in Britain's Best Home Cook, Mary Berry's Quick Cooking, A Berry Royal Christmas and Mary Berry's Simple Comforts.
Mary's family life
Mary has been married to Paul Hunnings since 1966. Paul previously worked for sherry brand Harvey's of Bristol as well as selling antique books, however he is now retired.
The couple previously spoke about Paul's proposal and how she only accepted his offer of marriage after the third attempt. Their eldest daughter is named Annabel and they also had two sons, Thomas and William.
William passed away in 1989 in a car accident when he was just 19. In a previous interview with the Daily Mail Mary recalled the moment she was told of her son's death.
She said: "It was a glorious January day and it was sort of 1 o'clock and he wasn't home. The doorbell rang and there was a policeman there, and immediately then I knew why. And he said, 'There's been an accident and I'm sorry to say your son is dead'."
Mary also revealed that she still celebrates her son William's life as she explained: "Every occasion we can we drink to Will. And you wonder what would have been. I still think of him as 19. He would be 53 now. Who would he be?"
She added: "Still, after all these years, his Bristol friends put flowers and notes at Penn church [the family lived in Penn, Buckinghamshire for over 40 years]. It’s lovely. I think he had an effect on his friends. I hope it made them drive more carefully."
Mary's arrest
In the early 1990s, Mary was arrested in an American airport. Speaking to Graham Norton on his show in 2018, she said: "I was asked to go to America to do cookery demonstrations, and I'm very particular at getting everything right.
"I thought I ought to have my recipes, all the ingredients weighed out in case the plane is late... I can go straight on stage to do my cookery demonstration.
"And so I weighed out each recipe in little bags. I had the flour, and the sugar, and everything grouped together...". But the ingredients pricked the attention of airport sniffer dogs. "Suddenly the airport became empty," Mary said.
She was then put into a cell, before an officer asked her if she was planning to make money from the "white packets". Mary replied: "Oh, I do, and my fee has already been agreed."
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