Mary Berry: This is the unexpected reason she quit The Great British Bake Off

Loyal followers of The Great British Bake Off are likely to fondly recall the iconic team of Mel, Sue, Mary, and Paul, who guided the show for seven successful seasons. Many fans argue that the show's dynamic changed after Mary Berry departed in 2017, but Berry's decision to leave stemmed from her deep commitment to the BBC.

Let's have a look at why Mary decided to leave The Great British Bake Off, and what she has been doing since.

Reason for leaving

As you may well know, Channel 4 has not always been the platform to host the show. Since its inception until 2017, The Great British Bake Off was on the BBC.

When the program switched to Channel 4 in 2017, Berry chose not to follow, a choice she attributes to her long-standing loyalty to the network that originally hosted the show. In an interview, she expressed gratitude to the BBC for nurturing Bake Off from the beginning and stated that staying with the broadcaster felt like the right decision. Berry’s co-hosts, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, also opted to stay behind, reinforcing their collective appreciation for the BBC's role in the show's success:

It was the BBC program, it grew there, so I decided to stay with the BBC, with Mel and Sue

So strong is her loyalty to the BBC that Berry did not even avail herself to be asked to move to Channel 4. She was firm in her gratitude to the BBC for giving her the platform in the first place. In the Radio Times interview, Berry said:

Well, I avoided being asked. It was suggested what would happen if I did go to Channel 4; what would I 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 BBC. I was brought up on it

Any regrets?

If you thought for a minute that Berry’s decision to stay with the BBC was career suicide, you have another thing coming. She’s continued to soar in her career after breaking camp with the Great British Bake Off. Berry, who has confessed she no longer watches the show, has so far appeared on several great shows including Strictly Come Dancing, This Morning, Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking, among other notable shows.

Berry has also been vocal about her gratitude for being part of the Bake Off family. In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, she reflected on her experience, saying:

I count my blessings every day. I love the whole team, because being ancient I get terribly well looked after.

Her deep affection for the team and her time on the show clearly remains strong.

Read more:

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Sources used:

The Radio Times: 'Mary Berry reveals why she didn't leave the BBC - and why a bit of sugar never hurt 'anybody

The Guardian: 'The Great British Bake Off: Now we're on BBC1, Mary Berry demands a golden throne'