Dame Mary Berry has been honoured with a Bafta fellowship, using the occasion to laud the BBC as “the broadcaster we must cherish”. The former Great British Bake Off judge received the British Academy’s highest accolade for her exceptional contribution to television.
Accepting the award from former Bake Off presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins at the Royal Festival Hall, the beloved 91-year-old television cook described the BBC as her “home of many years”. The Somerset-born chef light-heartedly quipped that Giedroyc and Perkins had “led me astray from day one”.
Dame Mary said: “I’m really bowled over by this accolade. I’m a cook, I’m a teacher, so I feel very honoured to be given Bafta’s highest award.” She reflected on her career, noting that her first television appearance was on Collector’s World in 1971, where she cooked a cow’s udder pie.
She finished her speech by offering thanks to her three children, including her son William, who died in a car accident in 1989 at the age of 19. She said: “William is in heaven, but I thank him.” Previous recipients of the fellowship include Kirsty Wark, Sir Billy Connolly, Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir David Attenborough.
