Briony May Williams has become a regular fixture on our screens since making her TV debut as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off in 2018. The 40-year-old baker and presenter often hosts episodes of the BBC's popular daytime show, Escape to the Country, where she helps prospective buyers search for their dream house in the UK countryside. But what about Briony's home life? Keep reading for all we know about her husband, daughter and life away from the cameras…
Briony's TV career
Before appearing on Bake Off, Briony worked as a teacher in Bristol. But in 2013, the presenter was forced to take some time off work due to illness. She was eventually diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and after being prescribed medication, returned to work within a month.
It was during her break from work that Briony found her passion for baking. She previously told Express.co.uk: "I was off work - I wasn't very well - and they kept misdiagnosing me. It wasn’t anything serious, it was polycystic ovarian syndrome.
© @brionymaybakes/Instagram"But, you know, it was making me feel very unwell. So, one of my colleagues at the school I was working at said, 'Why don't you try baking to keep your mind occupied?'"
"I find it very therapeutic. I think it's very methodical, following recipes and then you get a nice, yummy baked good at the end of it," said the star, who later applied for The Great British Bake Off and made it to the semi-final of the 2018 series.
Since then, she's appeared on various other TV shows, including Channel 4's Food Unwrapped, BBC One's Morning Live, and Escape to the Country.
Briony's husband of 12 years, Steve
Since July 2012, Briony has been married to her husband Steve, who works as a software engineer.
The couple, who live in Bristol, met online in 2010 and have been going strong ever since.
© @brionymaybakes/InstagramGushing over her other half on their tenth wedding anniversary back in 2022, Briony penned on social media: "10 years ago today I was lucky enough to marry this glorious human who I could not be prouder to call my husband @steve__brionys_husband you make me smile every day, you are my rock, my partner in crime, my best friend and the best daddy to our beautiful girl.
"I don't know what I did to deserve having you in my life but I’m so grateful you are," she continued. "Thank you for being you and for being mine. Here’s to many more happy years together!!! Love you my darling."
© @brionymaybakes/InstagramBriony's 'darling' daughter Nora
Briony is a doting mum to her nine-year-old daughter Nora, who she shares with her husband Steve.
The TV star praised her "incredible" daughter on social media in September to mark her ninth birthday. "How is our beautiful girl 9?!?" asked Briony. "Sat here sobbing my heart out putting this together because this little angel has grown into the kindest, sweetest, funniest, weirdest and most incredible little lady. Happy birthday my darling Nora, you’re my absolute favourite human and I'm so proud to be your mum, always. Love you a billion one hundred and so much more."
Nora has inherited her mum's love of baking and the pair spent quality time together in the kitchen during lockdown. "Nora loves baking," Briony told Disability Horizons in 2020. "We bake together a lot and I really want her to grow up with that skill. She loves anything rainbow or unicorn-based!
"With the lockdown, we muddled through like everyone else. We did loads of baking! It was nice to have the time to really do stuff like that with Nora," explained the star.
What Briony has said about her birth defect
Briony was born with a left hand that stops at the wrist, which she calls her "little hand". When she competed on Bake Off back in 2018, Briony and Channel 4 made the conscious decision not to mention her disability. "I specified early on that I didn't want them to make a big deal out of it because I just wanted to see how people would view it," she previously told BBC News.
During an appearance on Loose Women back in 2020, Briony revealed that she didn't want to be labelled as the show's "first disabled baker".
© Dave Benett"Growing up, my mum always told me that if I was gonna do something and I struggled, I just have to find my own way of doing it," explained the presenter. "That's how I've approached my whole life. Like tying my shoelaces, riding a bike or driving a car. I wanted to go on [Bake Off] and just be me. I didn't want the big label, the first disabled baker."
When asked if she felt pressure from the disabled community to talk about her hand, she said: "There's no pressure, I don't think. It's just encouraged. Over the last 18 months or so, I've had to come to terms with that label 'disabled' because I've never used it growing up."
She continued: "I've tried to accept that word, own it a little bit more and say, 'I am disabled, but that doesn't make me any less able than a lot of other people'. Bake Off has given me that amazing platform to say it's ok to be different."
