Mary Berry's husband "laughed himself silly" when she was voted the world's 73rd sexiest woman.

Mary Berry

Mary Berry

The 80-year-old star - who presents 'The Great British Bake Off' alongside Paul Hollywood - beat the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Daisy Lowe and Christina Hendricks in this year's FHM top 100, but her husband Paul Hunnings found it hilarious.

Mary said: "(Paul) has always told me to keep doing what makes me happy and you could not have a nicer job than this."

The hugely popular BBC One baking competition returns to screens next week for its sixth series and Mary has revealed the 12 new contestants were much more competitive than previous years, where competitors have been more supportive of one another.

Mary told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "They started off quite cool. We haven't had that before. It took time for them to bond. They were very separate.

"In the past they have looked to see what others were doing but this time, they went out straight on their own. They had obviously watched 'Bake Off' and they were very channeled to do their own thing without looking left or right."

The contestants include 49-year-old father-of-three Paul, who has worked as a prison governor for eight years, 32-year-old Lithuanian bodybuilder Ugne, London-based firefighter Mat, 37, and 41-year-old Ian, who works as a personal photographer for the Dalai Lama when he visits the UK.

The oldest contestant on this year's series is 66-year-old Marie, who has admitted that she struggled to even boil an egg when she first started baking several years ago.

'The Great British Bake Off' kicks off on August 5 at 8pm on BBC One.