Nadiya Hussain's emotional triumph on The Great British Bake Off was the show's best-ever moment on BBC One - at least according to Mary Berry.

What to Read Next

We still cry every time we think about Nadiya overcome with pride and tears as she was crowned the ultimate Star Baker back in 2015, especially since she's only continued to inspire us since then.

Mary Berry revealed that she feels the exact same way when Digital Spy and other media caught up with her at the National Television Awards on Wednesday (January 25).

"I think the one that Nadiya won was the greatest one from Bake Off," she said. "She had achieved so much. She was very young, and she'd worked very hard. And she had her family behind her."

It's particularly poignant praise, since Nadiya recently revealed that she doesn't even have a clear memory of winning Bake Off thanks to her nerves.

Mary Berry has now sadly left Bake Off as the competition moves from BBC One to Channel 4 - so how does she feel about Nadiya or another Star Baker replacing her as Paul Hollywood's co-judge?

"I haven't really ever thought about it," she admitted. "I mean, Mel, Sue and Paul - we're a team. And I haven't really looked further. Love Productions are brilliant, and they will find someone [to replace us]."

Mary Berrypinterest
ITV

Although Mary now has more free time on her hands, definitely don't count on her to pop up in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom this autumn.

"I'm the most clumsy person, my husband would leave me," she joked. "I am not doing Strictly, but I admire it."

At Wednesday's NTAs, Mary delivered a tearful goodbye to Bake Off while accepting the Best TV Judge award in front of an adoring A-list crowd.


Want up-to-the-minute entertainment and tech news? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.

Headshot of Justin Harp

Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
 

Headshot of Laurence Mozafari

Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.

Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.

Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.

He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.

Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.

Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer.  Linkedin