BIRTHDAY honours

DAME MARY BERRY on how this special year is proving the perfect time for reflection

- HANNAH DAVIES, ELAINE REILLY

Dame Mary Berry may have been helping the nation to bake and cook over the past six decades, but her passion for serving up culinary inspiration shines as brightly as ever.

As part of the celebrations for her 90th birthday, which fell on 24 March, the Queen of Cakes is now looking back on her career in a new six-part series. Starting on BBC2 this week, Mary at 90: A Lifetime of Cooking features footage from her early TV shows and will also see the Bath-born star share her all- time favourite recipes with celebrity friends.

‘I can’t quite believe I’ve been cooking for 60 years,’ laughs Mary. ‘Looking back through my career, the time has just flown by!’

Here, in an exclusive interview, Mary tells TV Times about marking her magical milestone in style...

Many happy returns for your 90th birthday, Mary!

Thank you so much, I feel very lucky to be in good health. I've had wonderful parties and a beautiful lemon tier cake on my birthday. I've been very spoiled.

Aw, that's lovely to hear. What was the idea at the heart of your new series?

It's so exciting! I take a trip down memory lane reflecting on some of the memorable moments of my cooking career. We have clips from the archives from when I started out.

Did any clips particularly stand out?

My first regular TV appearance was [ITV's magazine programme] Good Afternoon in the 1970s, which was presented by Judith Chalmers. I was the cookery editor of a publication called Home & Freezer Digest at the time and was spotted by the show's producer. But looking back, I have a very high-pitched voice and seem quite nervous.