I was never going to leave BBC, says Berry
FORMER Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry has said that she had her differences with Paul Hollywood, but she “admired him a lot”.
The 81-year-old decided to stay with the BBC and presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins when Channel 4 poached the hit show, saying that she was never tempted by the money.
She told Radio Times magazine “no one was more surprised than me” when Bake Off left the BBC, but that she avoided even being asked to join the show at its new home.
Asked if she had ever been attracted by the prospect of a bigger pay cheque, she replied: “No, I wasn’t. And anyway, I was never asked to go. I avoided being asked. It was suggested what would happen if I did go to Channel 4, what I would get, the advantages.
“But I didn’t ever have a meeting with them. I’d made up my mind. To me, it’s an honour to be on the BBC. I was brought up on it.”
The baking queen, who could be replaced by Prue Leith on the Channel 4 show, said of Hollywood: “I would always stand by him. Paul and I had our differences about what was important to us, but he is a brilliant bread-maker and I admired him a lot.”
She called Mel and Sue “extraordinary,” adding: “They are extremely bright and their humour is spontaneous and very cheeky. They are hilarious and I am so fond of them.
“It was the BBC’s programme, it grew there. So I decided to stay with the BBC, with Mel and Sue.”
Berry did reveal one aspect of The Great British Bake Off she was not so keen on – saying she was not a fan of contestants getting visibly upset on camera, in early episodes of the series.
“In life you shouldn’t keep bursting into tears. There are occasions when you want to cry your heart out, but not on a television programme,” the 81-year-old told Radio Times magazine. “If you do something that doesn’t work out, you have to gather yourself up and keep going.”