MARY BERRY SAVES CHRISTMAS
BBC1, 6.30pm
WELL if anyone was going to be able to save Christmas, it would be Mary, wouldn’t it?
The baking expert, all-round queen, recently honoured Dame and woman everyone wants to be their gran, Mary can make miracles happen.
In this surprisingly emotional festive treat, she teaches three complete novices how to cook something special for their loved ones this Christmas.
“I’m absolutely petrified about it,” she says. Her useless students are Jake, Jess and Claire, none of whom have ever cooked a meal from scratch in their lives. “Sometimes I make toast,” muses zoo keeper Jake, who reveals that he lives off fast food and takeaways.
Their faces are a picture as Mary demonstrates how to make a butternut squash, stilton and sage tart, a turkey crown with bacon lattice, and a mango, passion fruit and limoncello pavlova. “What’s blue cheese?” asks Jake, head in hands. They will have ‘help’ from celebrity sous chefs Tom Allen, presenter Angela Scanlon and Repair Shop’s Jay Blades. But can they make Mary proud?