Bake Off’s Nancy Birtwhistle doesn’t want to look after her grandchildren: ‘I want do what I want to do’

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After winning Bake Off in 2014 at the age of 60, Nancy Birtwhistle felt as though that's the moment her life really got started.

As a retired GP practice manager when she won the show, Nancy had already applied for series 4, but was unsuccessful. Undeterred, she tried again for series 5, and winning changed her life.

Now 71, the keen baker has gone on to become a Sunday Times bestselling author, and advocate for green living - she's known for her tips to replace chemical cleaners around the home, and preventing the use of single-use plastics.

With such a busy career taking off in her retirement, Nancy has said that she won't be committing to the responsibility of caring for her grandchildren - she has 10, and the youngest is currently 7-years-old.

In conversation with The Times, Nancy shares she is often asked by people of her generation when she'll start enjoying her retirement.

She is firm in her reply to such questions: "I don't want to be like you. I love my grandchildren, but I don't want to look after them either."

"I want to do what I want to do," she adds. Some of her best life advice includes, "Age isn't a barrier to achieving," and Nancy is certainly a brilliant role model for following your dreams at any age.

"In my thirties I took a dog to Crufts. In my forties I did a masters degree. In my fifties I learnt to speak French. In my sixties I won Bake Off. In my seventies I'm writing book number eight," she says.

How to Make Homemade Stock Cubes | Nancy's Green and Easy Kitchen by Nancy Birtwhistle - YouTube

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Nancy often expresses love for her grandchildren, citing them as the inspiration for her passion for living a green life and sharing that with others.

She one wrote on Instagram to explain why she'd switched to eco-friendly cleaning products. "I made the choice to switch several years ago, scribbled everything down as I continued my eco-friendly journey. It’s for the future of my grandchildren, generations that follow and the health of our planet," she wrote.

The baking star fills her days with tasks she loves, sharing, "In spring, summer and autumn I'm up at half six, sowing seeds, harvesting and preserving." Writing is reserved for winter mornings.

Unlike some former Bake Off winners, a book deal didn't automatically follow for Nancy, and she self-funded her first book.

She also turned to Instagram to find a following and build her audiences - she is passionate about engaging with her one million fans on the platform and answering their questions.

"It was humbling reaching one million followers," she shares, adding that she gets 200 messages a day. These often include before and after pictures from people who have used, and loved, her products.

Of course, she wanted to offer her opinion on the one thing everyone is talking about at the moment in relation to the show that launched her later-in-life career: the addition of Nigella Lawson to the Bake Off judging line-up.

Mary Berry has already given her opinion, and now Nancy shares, "I can't wait to see what Nigella brings to the tent. She'll be fantastic, and I've told her so."