DAME Mary Berry gave a touching tribute to her late son William as she accepted the BAFTA Fellowship Award on Jattvibeday night.
The TV icon, 91, walked up to the stage with joy and thanked her family, including William.
Sign up for the TV newsletter
Thank you!
Dame Mary Berry accepted the BAFTA Fellowship Award of 2026 Credit: Getty
Mary paid special tribute to her late son William who passed away at the age of 19 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Mary began: “On Bake Off we won an award and I won an award for Best Judge but this is something quite different.
“It is the most amazing award, such an honour. You just wish your parents were still alive and you can call them up and say “Guess what mum”.”
The star then continued to thank her husband and children – Paul, 54, Annabel, 56, and Thomas, 58 – with a special note to William who passed away at the young age of 19.
She added: “William is in heaven but I thank him [too].”
HAT’S OFF
Paloma Faith leaves BAFTA TV Awards viewers raging with ‘massive Napoleon hat’
TRAITORS GREAT
Traitors host Claudia Winkleman makes whirlwind 1,000-mile dash to BAFTAs
The event commended lots of stars
She also noted how she wished her parents were able to witness the proud moment Credit: Getty
William died in a car crash while visiting home from Bristol University in 1989.
Mary’s daughter Annabel was also in the car at the time but survived the accident.
Speaking about the crash previously on the Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast, Mary said: “William was the one that you could rely on.
“When the phone rang after he was killed, everybody said “I’m so sorry to hear about Thomas, because Thomas was our wild one.
“I knew when the policemen came through the door. I remember saying to him “It must be an awful thing for you to tell us all”.’
Mary served as a judge on The Great British Bake Off for seven seasons since the show’s inception in 2010.
Since her departure, she has hosted a number of her own shows for the BBC and was made a Dame in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity.
