Bristol Bake Off star Briony May Williams is joining the BBC’s local radio stations in Bristol and Somerset next month. Briony, who is now a presenter on BBC One’s Escape to the Country, will cover for Andy Bennett.
She will join BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Somerset for three afternoons in November. The BBC said Briony will “entertain local audiences with her signature charm, warmth, and passion for the region”.
Briony, who lives in Bristol with husband Steve and nine-year-old daughter Nora, reached the Great British Bake Off semi-final in 2018, just a few years after taking up baking while off work with was later diagnosed as Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). After a colleague suggested she try baking as a way to keep her motivated, she honed her skills by watching YouTube tutorials.
Born with a left hand that stops at the wrist that she calls her “little hand”, she was the first visibly disabled baker on Bake Off but turned down an offer of using special equipment because she wanted to be treated the same as everyone else.
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She made a hugely successful move into broadcasting after Bake Off, presenting BBC One’s Food Unwrapped and appearing on Morning Live, Would I Lie to You and Celebrity Mastermind. Briony has also served as an ambassador for disability charities Reach and Paul’s Place and mental health charity Bristol Mind and was named in The Shaw Trust’s Disability Power 100 List of the UK’s most influential disabled people in 2021 and 2022.
She said: “I’m beyond excited to be covering for Andy Bennett. I’m a huge fan of radio and have been since I was a kind trying to record songs onto a cassette tape. BBC Radio Bristol and Somerset have been really supportive since my time on Bake Off so I’m delighted to be working with the awesome teams there.”
Briony has also recently appeared on BBC Radio Bristol as a judge in the station’s recent Make a Difference awards. She will present the Friday Afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol and Somerset on the first three Fridays of November from 2pm-6pm.
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