Two TV legends find ‘joy’ at Oxfordshire retirement homes

The famous cook was a judge on the show during the BBC years between 2010 and 2016, before it left for Channel 4.

Dame Mary has lived in Henley, in the south of Oxfordshire, with her husband Paul Hunnings, since 2019, having previously lived in London.

The 91-year-old was also recently on hand to help open Audley Shiplake Meadows on Reading Road in the South Oxfordshire town.

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Dame Mary Berry with husband Paul Hunnings. (Image: Kirsty O Connor / PA)

Henley’s newest retirement village is home to 65 senior living apartments, duplex penthouses and cottages for people over the age of 65 years old.

At the retirement home unveiling, Dame Mary said: “It was such a joy to be part of Audley Shiplake Meadows’ official opening event.

“Having called this area home for the past seven years, I know the new homeowners will be very happy here.”

Dame Mary was also recently awarded the Bafta Fellowship for her exceptional contribution to television.

“What an honour for a cook to receive the Bafta Fellowship,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it – for just doing what I love.”

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Dame Mary Berry at the Audley Shiplake Meadows opening event. (Image: PR)

The retirement village is home to 65 senior living apartments, duplex penthouses and cottages for people over the age of 65 years old.

At the retirement home unveiling, Dame Mary said: “It was such a joy to be part of Audley Shiplake Meadows’ official opening event.

“Having called this area home for the past seven years, I know the new homeowners will be very happy here.”

Dame Mary was also recently awarded the Bafta Fellowship for her exceptional contribution to television.

“What an honour for a cook to receive the Bafta Fellowship,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it – for just doing what I love.”

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Adam Henson.

Earlier this month, another TV star visited a different Oxfordshire retirement home, where they also remarked about the “joy” of the experience.

Countryfile presenter Adam Henson took a trip to Burford in the west of the county on Friday, June 5, to give a talk at Cotswold Gate Care Home on Forest Grove.

It was here that Adam spoke with the Oxford Mail about a variety of subjects, starting with the retirement home itself.

After having earlier remarked how he loved the place and joked to the audience that he needed to put his deposit down to join, he added: “It’s an absolute joy.

“I’ve driven up to the one in Derbyshire in the past as well as the one in Cheltenham, and then this is my second visit here.

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Cotswold Gate Care Home in Burford. (Image: Google Maps)

“This one is just 20 minutes from home, and coming through Burford is gorgeous.

“The home is beautifully capped and decorated, and I was sitting in this room that has amazing wallpaper, thinking ‘I’d quite like this in my house’.

“The interior design of these places is so lovely, and I’m getting to an age when I’m starting to think about my end-of-life, and where I’ll go and what I’ll do and what it’s going to be like.

“I’m hoping my children will be rich enough to pay for me to go into a very nice home like this!

“It’s a gorgeous place, and to be welcomed at the door was lovely, and everybody’s been so helpful, getting me cups of tea and all the tech work [with the talk’s presentation].

“So, you know I’m not just saying it, but it’s pretty faultless really.”