Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy.

Life is all about sharing. If we are good at something, pass it on. That is the pleasure I get from teaching - whether it is television or books. We should all share.

I think baking is very rewarding, and if you follow a good recipe, you will get success.

It's so comforting to have a small piece of cake. Just one slice.

Making your Christmas cake in September is perfect, as too fresh a cake crumbles when cut.

Some of my fondest memories are holidays by the seaside.

When I was paralysed by polio at 13, I went into an isolation hospital and couldn't sit up, so I only took liquid food from spouted cups which the masked nurses would bring in and feed to me. I saw my parents only through glass; we couldn't touch.

If you're feeling a little bit down, a bit of kneading helps.

The only time I'll use a microwave is to warm up a cup of coffee I've left too long before drinking.

I wasn't the brightest button in the class at school, but I enjoyed cooking and baking. I wasn't clever enough at Maths O-level to get onto the cookery teaching course I really wanted to do, so I did a catering course instead.

I admire my fellow judge Paul Hollywood enormously, though we often argue. He believes presentation and uniformity are paramount; I'm more interested in taste. I don't mind if one bun is smaller than the others, or if there's a little pastry cracking, though I don't want a soggy bottom.

I love a good madeira cake. Nice and simple. The most important thing is that a cake is moist. Most people overcook cakes, which dries them out.

We have three and a half acres, complete with duck pond and wildflower meadow and open annually by appointment as part of the National Gardens Scheme.

All my grandchildren bake. On a Saturday, Annabel's boys, Louis and Toby, always bake. Louis makes a chocolate cake, Toby makes banana or lemon drizzle. They're 12 and 10, and they can do it totally on their own. My son's twin girls, Abby and Grace, are 14; they make birthday cakes and like to do it on their own with Mum out of the way.

I have no desire to be a centenarian. I think 90 is a great time. You've had a good innings. You have to deal with the cards that have been dealt, of course, but I don't think very old age, if you haven't got your marbles, can be very nice.

The biscuit tin shouldn't be handy - move it about a bit. Try to keep it out of the way.

I love Michel Roux, Jr., and James Martin - the chefs who are experts in their own right, like Rick Stein on fish. But I don't watch them very much because I don't think it's fair for my husband to be in a total food environment all the time! So we watch programmes about gardening more.

I can't bear the thought of retirement, and I haven't prepared myself for it. I don't play bridge, and I don't play golf. I do play tennis, but you can't do that every day of the week.

So often, when somebody dies in the family, whether a child or a parent, there is no one to lean on. When something like that happens, you go into a shell, but on the other hand, it's a really good thing to talk it over and say how you feel.

While we're filming 'Bake Off,' I can get really cold, so I'm often holding a hot-water bottle or layered up under an anorak and a warm hat.

I'm not great on the florals. I think you've got to wear what you're happy in and that is fun but isn't mutton dressed up as lamb.

I don't want food all over the place, down the sides of the sofa... When I shared a flat before I got married, we would always eat around the telly, but not now!

My favourite TV show is... 'Downton Abbey.' The characters are wonderful, and the style is created so beautifully on screen. Everything from the table settings to the linen seem perfect to me. While I'm watching it, I'm in a totally different world.

I am a bit of a mother hen at Christmas! I always prepare in advance. It is the only way; otherwise, it can be really daunting.

My son is a tree surgeon and gets me a lovely tree. I like to put it up early, as I can't wait for Christmas. We dress it with decorations that have been in the family for years.

'The Great British Bake Off' is family entertainment. There aren't many programmes where all ages can sit and watch from beginning to end. Everything else is violent, cruel, and noisy. We're educational without viewers realising it.

Without doubt, without hesitation, I choose gardening over the gym. I can't stand going to the gym. It doesn't appeal to me at all. Give me gardening every time.

I was born in 1935, so I was quite young when the war started. I remember we were in Bath, and it was 1942. We went down into the cellar of our house, and when we came up, I remember seeing all the glass on the floor where all the windows had been shaken out by the bombs.

I'm really boring. I think about cooking all the time. I have a little book, so when I go out or see something, I jot it down and try to include it in a recipe or do a variation of it. I even have a notepad by my bed, which is usually saying we're running out of mango chutney.

I don't like tattoos because tattoos are forever.

I've been amazed by the success of 'The Great British Bake Off.' I've been 'rediscovered' at the age of 76. When I was asked to be a judge, I said I wanted to be myself. I didn't want to shout like some other television judges. I also said I was a very bad bread maker, so would the programme makers find someone to help on the bread scene?

If you are buying a larger turkey than usual, make sure it will fit in the oven.

As I was growing up, all meals, including breakfast, were family occasions, and you all sat down to eat together - and you had to finish everything as well.

I walk, and I play tennis, but mainly I watch what I eat. I eat all the things that I love, including cake. Cake is very important to me. But it's all about the size of the slice!

I would always stand up for women, but I don't want women's rights and all that sort of thing. I love to have men around, and I suppose if you're a true feminist, you get on and do it yourself. I love it when someone says, 'I'll get your coat' or, 'I'll look after you', or offers you a seat on the bus. I'm thrilled to bits. I'm not a feminist.

I grow herbs near the back door, and you can grow a wonderful selection of herbs and window boxes... My idea is that you should grow what you eat. There's no point in growing something like celeriac - which is very difficult to grow - if you hate it.

One of my first jobs was as a recipe tester for a PR agency. One week, the editor of 'Housewife' magazine called my boss and asked me to write a column - the cookery editor had gone away on a press trip. I was terrified.

Having children is the greatest thing that can happen to you as a husband and wife. They are infuriating at times when they're little, but on the whole, they're such a joy. I don't think I was the most brilliant mother when they were young. I had quite a bit of help because I was working and I enjoyed my work.

My bread and croissants wouldn't win a prize! I'm not an expert in yeast cookery.

Looking back, I don't feel that I was the most brilliant mother. I was always very good at giving my children the right food, but it was one of my regrets in life that I didn't spend more time listening to them or playing with them.

I don't like showing cleavage because I get cold, and if I had fantastic legs, I might wear short skirts - but I think at 78, one's got to act one's age.

I make myself eat one piece of toast for breakfast. When I'm doing 'Bake Off,' I eat soup for lunch. I know what puts on weight for me; it's just over-indulgence.

I know people think I invented the Victoria sandwich, but I'm really not that old.

At 17, I went away to Pau in the south of France for a few months to study domestic science - including cleaning windows with newspaper and water - while living with a Catholic family with 10 children.

When our William was killed, there wasn't a child bereavement charity. I was extremely blessed with a very close family, wonderful friends, a supportive husband, and two further children.

I hope that I dress for my age. Because there's no need to be dowdy, is there? But I don't go with all the colours that everybody is wearing. I'm not very fond of lime green or orange, so I don't do that. I read all the fashion magazines, but most things are totally unsuitable for somebody of 79.

Reluctant as I am to regard myself as a style icon, I would love to think I could inspire older women to make the most of themselves.

I would serve a selection of cakes, scones, and small sandwiches for afternoon tea. High tea is usually served between 5 P.M. and 6 P.M., replacing an evening meal - it is more substantial.

My best holidays were in Devon and Cornwall when the children were growing up. We always used to stay on farms because our children were pretty wild, and it was great going to the beach every day. We used to go to Launceston and Salcombe and all over those two counties.

I was always nervous before a television show, and I still am now. But 'The Great British Bake Off' is a happy show; there is no bad language, and although we do have drama, we deal with it calmly.