Berry tells of being arrested at airport

Mary Berry has revealed she was once arrested while travelling through an airport with packets of flour and sugar in her suitcase.

The TV cook and food writer appeared on the Graham Norton Show with presenter Claudia Winkleman, who joked that her guest had a “much darker side”.

Berry told the show’s host: “I was arrested 25 years ago.

“I was going to the US to do some cookery demonstrations and was worried that there might be problems so I weighed out all the ingredients – flour, sugar – and put them all in little plastic bags.

“When I arrived at the airport the sniffer dogs made a bee-line for me.

“Suddenly I was surrounded by uniformed people and my assistant and I were put in separate cells.”

The former Great British Bake Off star said it was “alarming”.

She added: “When I was asked if I was going to make money from the stuff, I said, ‘I do and my fee has already been agreed’.”

Berry and Winkleman star together in BBC One’s new cookery show Britain’s Best Home Cook.

Presenter Winkleman said she jumped at the chance to appear in the series when she heard Berry was “on board” as a judge.

The duo appeared on the chat show alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Maxine Peake and Matt LeBlanc, as well as musicians Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris, who performed.

Picture: So TV/PA. Mary Berry.