You look Berry familiar! C4 lines up Mary ‘double’ for its new Bake Off team
The original judges and presenters proved to be the perfect recipe for the Great British Bake off.
And it seems bosses at Channel 4 may be looking for a similar mix for the next series – including a seasoned female presence.
While the line-up is shrouded in mystery, Paul hollywood has been pictured at a top- secret audition day with a string of chefs who are being touted as hopefuls.
Among them was Frances Atkins – one of only six female Michelin starred chefs in the UK – who bears more than a passing resemblance to Mary Berry.
The head chef at the Yorke Arms in North Yorkshire – which featured in Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s comedy The Trip – has been whipping up gastronomic delights since she was 17.
The 66-year-old also has TV experience, having recently appeared on BBC2’s Great British Menu where top chefs compete for the chance to cook a banquet.
After Channel 4 won Bake off from the BBC in September, Mrs Berry, 81,
‘I was desperate to work again’
Sue Perkins, 47, and Mel Giedroyc, 48, all quit the show – leaving three vacant spots on the series.
Bake off stalwart hollywood, 50, has agreed to join Channel 4, claiming that he doubled his salary.
It was clear TV chiefs were determined to keep the apparent auditions in South London under wraps with hollywood posting on Twitter that he was in San Francisco when he was obviously back at home.
Another top chef seen outside the test shoot was Michel Roux Jr, 56, who was trying to keep a low profile as he arrived at the location. The twostar Michelin chef, who has previous presenting experience on MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen, was carrying a change of outfits.
Rachel Allen, 44, who has her own baking series in Ireland as well as hosting the Good Food Channel’s Market Kitchen show, was also spotted joking with the production team. Chef and cookery writer Claire Macdonald, 68 – who also bears an uncanny resemblance to Mrs Berry – was another seen leaving the filming venue.
Mrs Atkins has told how her passion for food propelled her from an unhappy marriage into astounding culinary success. She was in a ten-year ‘disaster’ marriage to the famous libel lawyer George Carman, where he forbade her from professional cooking as he found it ‘socially unacceptable’.
‘In that ten years, I’d kept cooking because we did a lot of entertaining, but I was des- perate to work again,’ she said in a 2008 interview. After separating from her husband, Mrs Atkins set up her own catering company and met her second husband, Bill.
She then saved enough money to open her own restaurant and after running several other eateries, went on to eventually open the Yorke Arms.