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Former Great British Bake Off judge Mary, 83, said the UK’s slovenly approach to life is the cause of some of the greatest problems we face, like obesity. Asked whether getting families to
eat together was one way to conquer the crisis she said: “I couldn’t agree more. The more families that sit down together and don’t have food on the hoof the better. “Sitting down on a
Sunday, or even one night of the week, is the time I get my children and grandchildren. Once their tummies are full they tell me all sorts of things you would never get out of them. “It gets
them talking and it teaches them about new foods and it’s the social side of it. I know some people don’t even have a table to sit round but it’s a very good thing and important part of
life that we mustn’t lose.” And she had some simple advice for those who are chronically overweight, saying: “Obesity is really overeating most of the time. We’ve just got to try and get
people not to have a second slice of cake.” Tonight much-loved Mary returns to our screens as a judge on a new programme championing home cooking and forgotten favourites like hearty stew
and dumplings, roasts and pies. She first appeared on TV in the 1970s but her popularity rocketed with Bake Off in 2010. She refused to move when the show defected from the BBC to Channel 4
and said her new venture alongside Chris Bavin and Dan Doherty was a return to her first love. The BBC hopes Britain’s Best Home Cook, fronted by Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkleman,
will fill the massive void left by losing Bake Off after it bid just £15 million a year when the rival broadcaster offered £75 million for three years. The programme has been described as a
cross between the Apprentice, MasterChef and Bake Off, and will see 10 of the UK’s best domestic cooks go head-to-head in the kitchen while living in a shared house. Mary’s drive to get back
to basics will see her set a series of challenges celebrating everyday dishes. And she will have no truck with gimmicky restaurant fads, like smearing pureed potato across dinner plates.
She said: “I spent seven programmes on Great British Bake Off so it was very refreshing [to do something different]. “I had a very happy time but I was always dying to get back to proper
real family cooking, which is where I am now. “I can’t tell you how excited I was because I have always done real home cooking and I can think of nothing better but we really must keep it to
home cooking - none of the zig zags on plates or stacks of things, just real home cooking, proper people who cook for their families.” 'DON'T BE RUDE!': MARY BERRY TELLS MATT
BAKER OFF And in a dig at Paul Hollywood, 52, her former judging partner on Bake Off, Mary said of her new role: “I want to get the best out of people, encourage them and if they have made
a bit of a cock up then tell them where they have gone wrong and what they have done. “We have tried to be helpful because we don’t want people to cry and we don’t want them to be upset we
want them to be ready for their next challenge.” Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Director of Content, said: “I think we all agree that when Bake Off left us it created a really great opportunity
and I thought there was one glaringly obvious area that we hadn’t really done before which was home cooking. “It felt like an area that hadn’t really been explored.” _• BRITAIN’S BEST HOME
COOK AIRS TONIGHT ON BBC 1 AT 8PM_