Mary Berry Gives Health Update After Breaking Hip

PBS viewers will be able to celebrate the holidays with Mary Berry tonight, Monday, December 18, with her new show, Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas, which will see the beloved baker traveling to her mother’s homeland of Scotland for a magical winter break.

The special comes amid Berry’s recovery from hip surgery, which she underwent in 2021 following a fall in her garden where she broke her hip. After 10 nights in hospital, The Great British Bake Off alum returned home and was forced to take things slow.

“That was hard for me,” she told the U.K.’s Mirror last year. “I remember the doctor telling me that the recovery would take around a year and a half, and I thought, ‘Not for me!’ But he’s right – I still have quite a way to go before I’m fully healed. It will be a little while longer, but I’m getting there.”

Last month, Berry shared an update on her health, telling S Magazine that she and her husband, Paul Hunnings, had to swap tennis and golf for croquet.



“Croquet is something for when you’re older,” she explained. “My husband was a great sportsman in his time and he can no longer play golf so we play croquet. It’s a great crowd and for a couple of hours, you forget everything.”

“It takes you out of yourself, you meet different people and I just love it. We play in all weather, we just dress for it,” she added.

Berry, 88, and her husband, 91, have been married for 56 years. “I’m very lucky to have my husband,” Berry said. “He’s 91 and I’m looking after him, I can tell you!

She noted that the couple have had arguments in the past, but they’ve worked out the secret to solving issues is to apologize. “Settle an argument before you go to bed and learn to say, ‘Sorry, I was wrong,’” she noted. “Sometimes we are wrong. I’ve learnt to say sorry and it’s important.”

Berry underwent physiotherapy following her surgery and was able to return to work a few months later, filming her new show, Mary Makes It Easy, a six-part series that aired earlier this year, and her upcoming Christmas special.

“It’s quite frightening to break your hip because it’s painful and you think you’re never going to get better,” she said in a previous statement. “You can’t do your shoelaces up, you certainly can’t get your trousers on and you think, ‘Gosh, am I going to be like this all the time?’”

“I’m very privileged to still be doing the job that I love, and I really don’t think about age. I keep busy because that’s what I like to do. I’m not keen on lounging around at home and doing nothing,” she added.

Berry will cook up a variety of sumptuous dishes in the upcoming special, and she will be joined by Scottish celebrity guests, including tennis star Andy Murray, singer Emeli Sandé, and Love Island U.K. narrator Iain Stirling.

Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas, Monday, December 18, 9:00-10:00 pm et, PBS