Val Stones: 'I was on Great British Bake Off… Now, I’ll never retire'

I won’t go into detail about how the effects of being a Headteacher causes years to be knocked off life expectancy. Instead, I will say that after 19 years in management as a Headteacher working 12-hour days, six days a week, I initially decided to retire at the age of 56.  
  
It was the best thing I ever did for many reasons. No longer did I rise at six to be in school before eight, and the evenings and weekends were completely mine.  
 
I chose to return to teaching as a supply teacher to make some money, able to choose the days I worked without the burden of management. I always baked something to take into school for the staff to eat during breaks and many said that I should apply for The Great British Bake Off. Little did they know the seed they had sown. 

Val Stones with one of her baking creations. (Image: Bottle)I have always been a risk taker to see what I can achieve. Applying for Bake Off seemed a good idea. The rest is history. I spent five weeks in the GBBO tent and touched the hearts of millions with my bakes and passion for baking.  
 
The producers give a sort of pep talk when your time in the tent is over; the bakers are told that once the programme airs, life will never be the same again. We all laughed – but how little we knew. They were right; life has never been the same since. 
 
After Bake Off, I sat down with my lovely brother-in-law, who helped me write a plan in terms of what I wished to achieve from being on TV. First, write a recipe book for my grandchildren, so family recipes would be remembered. Second, I wanted to use my profile to raise money for charities I’ve always loved to support. 
 
I needed to continue to promote my love of baking (preferably with paid work to fund charity work), opening an Instagram account, full of followers, many of whom have become friends. It’s like having pen pals! I still can’t quite believe how many follow me. 
 
Now, my time is spent taking part in food festivals, demonstrating, baking, and chatting about life after Bake Off. I meet up with other bakers at these events and it’s like being with family. I work with Stannah to promote positive lifestyles in later life and all the hobbies and baking that comes with it and working with a building company to have show homes smelling of fresh bakes.  
 
I am most proud of my charitable activities. I am an Ambassador for The Royal Osteoporosis Society, having severe osteoporosis myself. My body is full of so much Titanium from broken bones and a hip replacement that airport x-ray machines go frantic as I go through. 
 
I am also a patron of St. Margaret’s Hospice South West; the care given by these wonderful people is outstanding. Most recently they cared for a dear friend of mine. This dear friend and I walked 70 miles along the Great Wall of China in six days, raising nearly £15,000 for charity. I was sixty-eight. Imagine walking up and down steps for seven hours a day!  
 
From a Comic Relief sketch with Micky Flanagan to working with Joe Lycett on Got Your Back, I often wonder how my life got me to this point. My only regret is never having met my singing hero Ed Sheeran, anyone who can make this dream come true, please do! 
 
I will soon be 74. I often think what might I be doing now had I not been on Bake-off? Well, I would probably support charities with baking. I would probably be working in a charity shop. I may have taken up knitting and painting again. I would most likely lie in in the mornings, I would still wear jeans and watch Bake Off.  
 
However, I took the path less taken and now I will never retire. I’m writing a second book with bakes and memories, but I’m still learning and developing recipes. My husband and I love travelling and will continue to do so as long as we are able. 
 
I have the philosophy that you are never too old to learn and whenever something new comes my way I consider whether it inspires me to follow my passions and if it does, I will put my hand up! Long may it continue.

Val appeared in series 7 of GBBO in 2016, she is now the baking expert for stairlift and home lift company Stannah.