It’s been a busy year for Mary Berry, author and beloved former judge on The Great British Bake Off (or The Great British Baking Show, as it’s called in The States.) This spring, she teamed up with Belmond to host an afternoon tea train ride from London’s Victoria Station through the Weald of Kent; in September, she also had a beer named after her, sent them a cease-and-desist letter, and then ended up with a “Cease and Desistberry Pastry Stout” in her honor as a result. The latest? A few days ago, rumors started circulating that Berry would be teaming up with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge herself, for a holiday special set to air on BBC1.
The show, according to the Daily Mirror, has a working title of “The Mary Berry Royal Christmas Show,” and may be taking place at a royal venue. (Perhaps a holiday spectacular at Buckingham Palace? We’ll have to wait and see.) Middleton and Berry will reportedly prepare a Christmas feast for charity workers who are scheduled to work during the holidays. The special is expected to air next month and is being produced for the BBC by Shine TV. (The BBC has not confirmed the news yet.) There’s no word yet if and when “The Mary Berry Royal Christmas Show” will air in the U.S. or appear on any streaming services. Fingers crossed that it does—the combination of Berry and Middleton sounds like just the holiday cheer we need.
The Great British Bake Off also announced holiday news of its own. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the show’s holiday special, the “Great Festive Bake Off,” would feature special guests from the cast of Derry Girls. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Clare Devlin on the show, tweeted about the crossover and wrote, "The Great Festive Bake Off sees Noel, Sandi, Prue and Paul welcoming brand new bakers to the festive tent for the first time, in the form of the Derry Girls star cast. Baking up some New Year's inspired bakes, and competing for the coveted Star Baker title are Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn and Siobhan McSweeney."
The special episode will air in the United Kingdom on New Year’s Day—it is expected to air in the U.S. as well, but an exact date hasn’t been announced yet. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the holidays.
Update 11/19/2019: This article has been updated to reflect that the BBC has not confirmed the television special yet.
