Bake Off star Mary Berry cooking up a fortune as she makes huge sum in one year
The success of the Great British Bake Off made Mary Berry a household name and now the culinary expert is reaping the rewards with an expanding empire of merchandise
by Alun Palmer · The MirrorTV chef Mary Berry’s fortune is on the rise by £1.74million a year.
The star, 89, made the cash from her BBC appearances and cookware range. Companies House figures show her firm banked £1.1m in 2024 while her merchandising arm brought in £639,000.
The Great British Bake Off made her a household name but the star decided not to move to Channel 4 when it was poached from the BBC in 2017.
The proof was in the eating, as Mary – made a Dame in the late Queen’s 2020 birthday honours list – is now one of the Beeb’s best-paid presenters.
She earned up to £219,999 for her BBC appearances, the corporation’s report shows – dwarfing her old £70,000 GBBO salary. Aside from that, she has written more than 70 cook books, has her own app, Mary Berry: In Mary We Trust, and has put her name to cookware sold by Next, John Lewis and Dunelm, plus a range of cakes at Sainsbury’s.
A TV insider said: “Mary decided not to jump ship to Channel 4 in spite of the large cheque that was dangled in front of her. She is the BBC to her core and the money was secondary. People love her and trust whatever she puts her name to. That is pure gold to companies. She has shown she can be a shrewd businesswoman and stay loyal to the BBC.”
Other Bake Off hosts who have found the recipe for financial success include Prue Leith, who signed a £200,000-a-year contract when she took over from Mary.
Prue, 84, sold off her interests in her £15m-a-year food firm in 1995. She also has her own range of glasses with MAC and PURE Eyewear, called Specs by Prue.
Paul Hollywood, 58, paid himself £14m last year. He earns £600,000 for GBBO and has 11 cook books.
Nadiya Hussain, 39, who won in 2015, has her own cook books and BBC TV shows and is worth an estimated £4.5million, while hosts Alison Hammond, 49, and Noel Fielding, 51, have millions too.