Mary Berry can stand the heat: Bake Off star battled to stay warm during Bake Off

Her wardrobe on The Great British Bake Off has earned almost as much praise as her culinary skills, but now the lengths that Mary Berry has to go to just to keep warm on the show have been revealed.

Bake Off, which has returned to BBC2 with judges Berry, 78 and Paul Hollywood, 47, is pre-recorded in a specially constructed tent in Somerset from the spring.

Mel Giedroyc, who presents the hit show with Sue Perkins, told the Radio Times: "When we first started filming, in April, it was freezing so our main concern was to keep Mary Berry warm.

"She had four thermal layers on and two water bottles down the trousers.

"This year we discovered these marvellous heated belts called 'hot trusses'. I was a big fan. They keep your stomach in as well, which is useful as the series goes on..."

She said that the baking show had taken a toll on her own waistline.

"I've put on a good 11 pounds every series," she said. "The first couple of episodes it's: 'No thank you, not for me.' Cut to the semi-final and we're hoofing up whole quiches."

Giedroyc said that her own ability to bake had been undermined because her daughters take on Hollywood and Berry's judging roles whenever she tries anything at home.

"It doesn't help that my daughters have become little judges. If I do produce a baked item, they tut at the soggy bottom and advise me to try harder next time," she said.

Giedroyc told how she approached Perkins to form the comedy partnership which launched them to fame many years ago.

"I wrote her a letter. It was ridiculously formal: 'Dear Susan, would you be so kind as to consider forming a double act with me? Do get in touch. Yours sincerely, Melanie,"' she said.

PA