Cherished television presenter and culinary expert Mary Berry endured a devastating tragedy in 1989 that left her consumed by sorrow. The 88-year-old broadcasting legend - who has penned over 80 cookbooks and became a familiar face across Britain following her role as a judge on The Great British Bake Off - was left heartbroken when her son William perished in a motor accident at just 19 years old.
During a conversation with the Daily Mail, she revealed the agonising moment when she had to break the devastating news to her other son, Thomas, about his sibling's death. She revealed: "I remember when we told Thomas that William had died. He said, "But Mum, we had so much to do." That's his sadness. It stays with you."
William had been pursuing business studies at a Bristol university when the fatal incident occurred, and was accompanied by his sister, Annabel, during the crash, though she emerged uninjured.
Mary subsequently received the heartbreaking confirmation that her son had passed away.
Earlier, during The Mary Berry Story, a BBC programme chronicling her journey, Berry disclosed her private anguish and recalled: "It was a glorious January day and it was sort of 1 o'clock and he wasn't home.
"The doorbell rang and there was a policeman there, and immediately then I knew why. And he said, 'There's been an accident and I'm sorry to say your son is dead.'"
She continued: "Still, after all these years, his Bristol friends put flowers and notes at Penn church [the family lived in Penn, Buckinghamshire for over 40 years]. It's lovely. I think he had an effect on his friends. I hope it made them drive more carefully."
Berry also revealed that her faith has been a source of strength, and she finds solace in the belief that she will reunite with William in the afterlife. She expressed: "Oh, yes! I think so. Absolutely. I hope so. There is a comfort in that."
Mary and her long-term partner, Paul Hunnings, who married in 1966, are parents to William and two other children: Thomas, born in 1968, and Annabel, born in 1972.
