Queen of Cakes, Mary Berry, has become a national treasure over the past five years as a judge on the Great British Bake Off. But how well do you really know her?
To mark Mary Berry's 80th birthday (yes, really) on 24 March, we round up 12 things you never knew about the Great British Bake Off judge.
1) At the age of 13 Mary contracted polio and spent three months in hospital. When she finally came out of isolation her father walked her horse three miles to visit her. The condition left Mary's left arm and hand weak which often gets mistaken for arthritis by television viewers.
2) Mary hasn't had sugar in her tea since the War when her mother told her if she gave it up she'd be able to bake a cake every once in a while. We like her thinking!
3) Mary trained at Bath School of Home Economics and was then classically trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris.
4) She gained her big career break in the magazine world when she became the cookery writer of Housewife magazine in 1966. She then joined Ideal Home in 1970 and stayed there for three years.
5) Mary has penned more than 80 cookery books since her first was published in 1970 and they've sold over 6 million copies worldwide. She's covered topics from Aga cooking and cooking from the freezer to family meals and, of course, baking.
6) In 1989, Mary and her husband Paul lost their middle child, William, in a car crash when he was just 19. The tragedy brought her and her husband closer together and she believes her childhood illness made her stronger as a person which helped her deal with William's death.
7) Along with her daughter Annabel, Mary launched a range of salad dressings and sauces in 1994. The range now consists of 10 products, including chutneys and condiments, and can be bought in supermarkets across the UK.
8) Mary has achieved several impressive accolades, which include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Guild of Food Writers, a CBE for services to culinary arts, an honorary degree from Bath Spa University, Freedom of the City of Bath and an Outstanding Achievement prize at the 2014 Specsavers National Book Awards.
Mary and her husband Paul after she received her CBE in 2012. Pics: Getty
9) Mary has launched two smartphone apps. The first, Mary Berry Bakes, includes 70 recipes from her bestselling Baking Bible. The most recent app, In Mary We Trust, includes more than 50 step-by-step recipes with guides for planning, shopping and timing recipes.
10) Mary only ever uses her microwave to warm up a cup of coffee if she's left it too long before drinking it, and never for food.
11) At the age of 71 while in Ibiza for a friend's wedding, Mary went to the famous dance club Pacha. In an interview with the Telegraph she commented that 'the noise was amazing and of course the boys couldn't stand it. They went outside and waited for us on the stairs, and the girls all hung together inside. We didn't want to miss a trick.'
12) We know from the Great British Bake Off that Mary enjoys a glass of wine – a glass a day is supposed to be healthy, so perhaps that's the secret to her success!
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