Claudia: They had me at Mary

MARY Berry and Claudia Winkleman are so mutually appreciative it’s difficult to say who’s more pleased to be working with whom.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Mary revealed that it was the opportunity to work with Claudia that had convinced her to take part in the pair’s new cooking show, Britain’s Best Home Cook.

And for her part, Claudia said simply: ‘They had me at Mary.’

Mary and Claudia will oversee 10 amateur chefs as they pit their home recipes against one another over the course of eight weeks to try to win the coveted title Britain’s Best Home Cook.

It is the first programme Mary has appeared in as a judge since The Great British Bake Off moved to Channel 4, and the veteran chef revealed that having Claudia on board quelled any concerns she might have had.

‘I love judging because by now I know what I’m about — but I really wanted to do it well,’ said Mary.

‘I asked myself if I was doing the right thing and I realised this person on my left [indicating Claudia] would be roaring with laughter and making it all very relaxed.

‘The bonus point for me was having her.’

Meanwhile Claudia was similarly effusive about her co-star.

‘They had me at Mary,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know what the show was, and it didn’t matter.

‘I mean, it could have been a programme about ponies and I would have been like, “With Mary? Actual Mary? The Mary? I’m in.”‘

Claudia and Mary said they hoped the programme would encourage families to sit down and eat together at meal times.

‘If you sit down and feed your family round the table, they’ll talk to you,’ Mary said.

‘Children tell you all sorts of things when they’re happy and full and everyone is together — it makes them ready to chat.’

Britain’s Best Home Cook starts on May 3 at 8pm on BBC One

Author: Anna Thomson