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
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 recalled her early days: "It seems no time ago when I left Bath High School with two O-levels in needlework and cookery. Ms Date, my domestic science teacher – who was just knee-high to a grasshopper and had such a lovely smile – she set me on my way. I kept in touch with her till her last days in her care home in Bath."
Early Television Memories
Reflecting on her career, she said: "Television wasn't part of my childhood. We had our first black-and-white TV when I was 10. One channel: the BBC of course, and it's been my home for so many of my TV adventures over the years. It is the broadcaster that we must cherish."
She continued: "My first programme was on Collector's World, filmed in Bristol at the Georgia House in 1971. I cooked a cow's udder pie, and you don't forget that one," Dame Mary said to laughter from the audience.
Evolution of Her Career
She added: "Things have changed. When I started, it was just me, no home economist, no backup, and I loved every single moment and put my heart and soul into it. The BBC took me under their wing. Bake Off came along and my whole world changed. I knew my baking inside out but I had to start thinking of what I was going to wear. It was all about the jackets, mainly because I could tuck a hot water bottle underneath because the tent was so chilly in the morning, first thing."
Dame Mary said: "I see myself as a teacher and television is the best and the biggest classroom that there is. It's a great place to share what I love best. I've had such fun."
Looking Forward
Dame Mary said she has enjoyed her TV career as she "never knows what's coming next", adding: "I so admire producers, directors and creatives who I have worked with over the years. Essential qualities in life are kindness, patience and respect, which I have received all along the way. I've been doing this for over 50 years, and I'm still learning. So what's next for me, at the age of 91? I have just started my own YouTube channel. We shall see."
She finished her speech by offering thanks to her three children, including her son, 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.
