Sue Perkins feared end of Mel friendship after her life imploded with diagnosis

14 October 2023 , 08:15

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Sue was worried that her friendship with Mel would change forever when Mel welcomed her first baby (Image: BBC)

Mel Giedroyce and Sue Perkins could easily be referred to as the most successful UK TV presenters. Having originally formed an immediate bond as students at Cambridge University 35 years ago, the comedy duo has gone on to entertain audiences on TV for over three decades.

Together, they have hosted several popular shows, including Late Lunch and the Great British Bake Off. But there was a time when Sue, 51, feared that her friendship with Mel could be 'destroyed' when their lives took different directions.

Sue, who has been unable to have children due to a brain tumour that she's been living with for the last 13 years, was worried that her friendship with Mel would change forever when Mel welcomed her first baby with her husband, Ben Morris. Despite her fears, their bond remained unbreakable, and they continued to work together on several projects.

The duo met as students at Cambridge University 35 years ago. (Daily Mirror)

In a 2015 interview with Good Housekeeping, Sue revealed how she has been living with the growth on her pituitary gland, which has stopped her from having a baby. On being told that one of the side effects is that she is unable to have children, Sue added: "We live in a time and place where we think everything is possible.

"I don't know if I would have gone on to have children. But as soon as someone says you can’t have something, you want it more than anything." Her diagnosis was the more poignant given her co-star Mel Giedroyc has two children with husband Ben Morris. On how she felt when Mel became a mum, she said: "When she had her first child I thought: this is an experience I won’t have or share.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Mel and Sue hosted the original Bake Off with judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (BBC/Love Productions/Tom Graham)

"You’ve gone somewhere I can’t go. You think it is going to destroy something, but actually it hasn’t destroyed anything – we have very different lives and different experiences now." The popular presenting duo starred on stage together as part of the university’s Footlights comedy troupe before they headed to Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival to show off their own material.

Eventually the pair were given their big break by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who offered them a chance to write for their show French & Saunders. With a few roller coaster years in between, during which Mel had two daughters - Florence (born in May 2002) and Vita (February, 2004) – they eventually found their lane again with Great British Bake Off which kicked off in 2009, and went on to have rocketing success over the last six series.

Sue has been dating 50-year-old TV presenter Anna Richardson since 2013 (PA)

Sue, who has been dating 50-year-old TV presenter Anna Richardson since 2013, said she felt "lucky" because the growth was not cancerous. She said: "I’m lucky that it’s benign so it’s not in itself a worrying thing. Sometimes it’s big and makes me mad, and sometimes it’s small and is in the background. Sometimes it screws up my hormones. I have various tests now to make sure the side effects aren’t too onerous."

Sue will be appearing on Saturday Kitchen Live this weekend (Saturday, 14 October) and will be joining host Matt Tebbutt and chefs Sabrina Ghayour and Niklas Ekstedt.

Saturday Kitchen Live is on BBC One at 10am.

Florence Freeman