Former Bake Off judge Mary Berry has urged her fans to check on bereaved loved ones this Christmas, after experiencing the devastating loss of her teenage son.
TV chef Mary, 89, had the most heartbreaking knock on the door in 1989, with police going on to tell her that her son William had been killed in a tragic car accident. She shared William, and her two older children, Annabel and Thomas, with long-term partner Paul Hunnings.
William was just 19 when he was home visiting while studying at Bristol University. He was back for the weekend, and had borrowed his dad Paul's car, taking sister Annabel out for a drive with him.
But tragedy struck, when he misjudged a corner and the vehicle crashed, costing him his life. Thankfully, his sister was left with no physical injuries, but was left reeling after witnessing the death of her brother.
Image:
Getty Images)In an interview with the Mail, Mary has reiterated the importance of checking in on those who have lost someone, especially over the festive season. She said: "I think I learned when we lost William how important it is to communicate or to talk with people who have lost one of their great family (members) or a friend. And not to walk down the street and cross to the other side of the road, but to go and just say something and try and remember something, a situation that you remember - how skilful they were, and what they won here - to get them to talk."
Speaking about how she helps those in her life who have lost someone, she said if she can't make it to the funeral, she cares for them in other ways. Mary added: "It's much more important three weeks afterwards to pop round with - maybe they don't like cooking - with something, and to keep communication with those who become very lonely."
In a previous interview with the Mail, Mary revealed how she celebrates William's life as often as she can, recalling the chilling moment she found out what had happened to her son. Mary told the outlet: "It was a glorious January day and it was sort of 1 o'clock and he wasn't home. The doorbell rang and there was a policeman there, and immediately then I knew why. And he said, 'There's been an accident and I'm sorry to say your son is dead'."
Mary also revealed that she still celebrates her son William's life as she explained: ""Every occasion we can we drink to Will. And you wonder what would have been. I still think of him as 19. He would be 53 now. Who would he be?"
She added: "Still, after all these years, his Bristol friends put flowers and notes at Penn church [the family lived in Penn, Buckinghamshire for over 40 years]. It’s lovely. I think he had an effect on his friends. I hope it made them drive more carefully."
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
English (US) ·