Have yourself a Mary Berry little Christmas: The queen of cookery is a perfect host for star guests

By this late stage in December, it’s essential to be discerning about which Christmas parties you say yes to.

Otherwise, in just a week and a day you will be depleted of energy and unable to face the prospect of your 400th mince pie and handful of crisps (the diet that has replaced dinner this month). But that doesn’t mean being a Grinch — thanks to Mary Berry, you can still enjoy all the magic of the season.

The grande dame of British cookery wants to share her Christmas idyll with as many people as possible. She’s opened her doors to an eclectic range of celebrities with one thing in common — they are all nervous cooks. But Berry likes a challenge.

It’s more of an At Home than a party, but she has quite a line-up: newsreader Huw Edwards, actress Eleanor Tomlinson, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and comedian Joe Lycett. They each get a one-on-one with the former Bake Off queen, arriving at her cottage all wrapped up. She particularly admires Lycett’s regal furry coat: “like a bear”.

Rousing music plays as Berry puts them through their paces in her festive grotto — there are fairy lights in every corner and Christmas cards hanging on the wall. Edwards is by far the most eccentric. He has been on a strict diet all year and is now starving. His charming host says she’s a fan, making sure she’s in bed by 10pm each night to watch Huw. There’s some sort of double entendre here. He has had a close haircut and has made an effort, wearing a red Christmas jumper that he doesn’t quite look at ease in.

Referring to himself as The Edwards, Huw reveals he is a fussy eater. Tomatoes, mustard, mango and mayonnaise are all off limits. He doesn’t cook either, so Berry has her work cut out. The idea of making pastry feels more frightening for Huw than interviewing Obama, but he boasts he is “proud of how he destroyed that potato into mash with his huge muscles”. I didn’t expect Edwards to be such a character.

Berry then gets a well-deserved rest and the other guests whip up their favourite festive recipes to impress her. Tomlinson makes her family’s meatfest stuffing, and Lycett attempts his grandmother’s date-and-walnut loaf. It’s tense as they wait for their mentor’s verdict.

There’s a bit of interviewing: Berry probes Edwards about his career and tries to extract gossip from Tomlinson on Poldark co-star Aidan Turner (Berry gets very animated about him indeed).

We learn about her guests’ Christmases: Tomlinson’s father makes mango and avocado bagels for breakfast with cheese; Asher-Smith has never tried her mother’s boozy Caribbean Christmas cake because she can’t afford to take a day off her training regime.

The sprinter is sweet, starstruck by her host and eager to please — she admits that her competitive streak isn’t restricted to the racetrack. They’re a nice bunch who want to cook well to impress their mums. In between guests, Berry does some cooking of her own, sharing the recipes and insisting they are a doddle. I probably won’t attempt to make my own pastry like she does but it’s nice to see her and her acolytes get so much satisfaction from stiff peaks of meringue.

Watching her put them through their paces, I start to wish she was my grandmother. I’d even forgive her poor taste in napkin rings — her top tip for table decoration. Lycett says he wishes he could stay at Berry’s house for ever. Not if I get there first, Joe.