Viewers delighted at Mary Berry return but compare her new show to Bake Off

Viewers were delighted to see Mary Berry back on television judging a food programme on Britain’s Best Home Cook.

The new BBC One series, however, could not escape comparisons to Berry’s former show The Great British Bake Off and competitive cooking programme MasterChef.

Berry has returned to the judging hot seat in the home-cooking contest, which sees 10 family chefs pit their skills against each other in a bid to win the accolade of Britain’s best home cook.

She is joined by presenter Claudia Winkleman and co-judges Chris Bavin, a produce expert and presenter, and Dan Doherty, a renowned chef.

In a twist to other cookery shows, the contestants live in a house together throughout the eight-week competition while facing a series of culinary challenges.

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the programme, with one writing that “it’s no GBBO” but that it was “a lot of fun” regardless thanks to Berry’s presence.

Another described it as “Mary Berry does masterchef but its still watchable!”, while one said it was like “#GBBO meets #masterchef meets #TheApprentice” and with Berry “thrown in for good measure”.

“Loving #britainsbestbook it’s like a combo of Bake Off and Australian masterchef,” one viewer said.

“Well it’s no Bake Off but I enjoyed #BritainsBestHomeCook. And bake off took a while to take off,” another wrote.

One commented: “#bbhc is basically Bake Off isn’t it. And there is nothing wrong with that.”

There was plenty of praise for the return of “legend” Berry.

“Bloody fabulous to have Mary Berry back doing what she does best,” one pleased viewer said.

“So glad to have Mary Berry back on my tv,” another said.

The first episode saw amateur cook Fiona, 59, eliminated after delivering a disappointing poached egg with hollandaise sauce in the last of three rounds.

The contestants had previously been asked to serve up their ultimate burgers, and a dish featuring nuts.