Dame Mary Berry Receives BAFTA Fellowship

Dame Mary Berry, the 91-year-old television cooking icon, received the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy's highest honor for exceptional contribution to television, during the BAFTA Television Awards ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Former Great British Bake Off presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins presented the award to Berry, prompting her to joke that they had "led me astray from day one." In an emotional acceptance speech, Berry teared up while thanking her husband, two living children and her late son William, who died in a car accident in 1989 at age 19. "William is in heaven, but I thank him," she said.

Berry described the accolade as overwhelming. "I'm really bowled over by this accolade. I'm a cook, I'm a teacher, so I feel very honoured to be given BAFTA's highest award," she told the audience. Reflecting on her five-decade career, she recalled leaving Bath High School with O-levels in needlework and cookery, crediting her domestic science teacher, Ms. Date, for setting her on the path to television. Her first program, filmed in 1971 on Collectors World in Bristol, featured her cooking a cow's udder pie, a memory that drew laughter from the crowd.