On today's Moncrieff, intrepid reporter Henry McKean met the queen of the Victoria sponge, Mary Berry, to talk about her long career as a celebrity chef and how The Great British Bake Off has brought her back into the public eye.

And she also tasted Henry's baking skills...

To hear the rest of Henry's report, tune in live to Moncrieff at 3.20pm: www.newstalk.com/player/

1: She is a polio survivor

Mary contracted polio in 1948, spending three months in hospital. At the end of her recovery, she was left with a twisted spine and her left hand was weakened, though she counts herself lucky. In her autobiography, she writes: : ”The little girl in the bed beside me died, so I knew just how lucky I was to be able, finally, to go home at the end of those 12 weeks.”

2: Fashion isn’t ready for Miss Berry

Since appearing on The Great British Bake Off, Mary’s become something of a style icon for older women in the UK. When she worse a bomber jacket with a floral print, it became an overnight sensation on the Zara website and sold out. Days later, some were even being auctioned on eBay. She’s also not a fan of fellow GBBO-judge Paul Hollywood’s style. “He’s going with the trend,” she said in an interview, “But it looks like he can’t afford trousers without any holes in them.”

[BBC]

3: She’s responsible for you gaining a few extra pounds

Researchers in Cornell University have claimed that those of us tuning in to The Great British Bakeoff and other cookery competitions like Masterchef are more likely to be up to a stone heavier, as watching celebrity chefs preparing rich dishes “might suggest a social norm” and lead us to eating them far more often.

4: Her taste in food is not every extravagant

Mary has said that her favourite restaurant to dine in is Pizza Express (known as Milano’s in Ireland), while for breakfast she normally has Marmite on toast. Her death-row meal would be asparagus and pasta or potted shrimp on toast.

5: Her go-to bake is a classic Victoria sponge

Before becoming a household name as a chef and cook, Mary’s first ever job was working in a showroom displaying electric ovens. To showcase the power of the new technology, she’d usually prepare a classic Victoria sponge cake, and says that this is still the bake she uses to test a new studio kitchen the first time she’s on set. 

[Giphy]