Mary Berry, 87, says croquet saved her life after doctor's warning 'Gosh, she was right'

express.co.uk:

The Great British Bake Off star, 87, told how her GP warned her she could be dead in four years if she didn't start exercising after she broke her hip last year.It comes after the BBC cook broke her hip last year which resulted in emergency surgery and a 10 day hospital stay.But now, Mary has revealed how she has a new lease of life after taking up the lawn sport.The star said: "My GP told me, 'You’ve two options.

You could sit in a chair and do no exercise and quite probably be dead in four years, or you can set to, walk (uphill too!) and do everything you can, and it’ll take 18 months for a full recovery.'"And gosh, she was right."I’ve exercised and had lots of physio and it’s not quite normal yet, but it will be," Mary told the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine.The home cook told how she had taken up croquet alongside her husband Paul Hunnings, 90, branding it a "great joy" to play the sport together.It comes after the former Great British Baker Off judge revealed that waited for over three hours for an ambulance to arrive after she suffered a nasty fall, which saw her break her hip.The celebrity cook said that she "went down really hard" while picking flowers in her garden, which led to her having surgery and a 10-day hospital stay following the accident in August.The BBC cook revealed that she was gardening when she fell, and initially thought she had injured her knee.Mary said: "I had a new knee a few years ago and I thought, 'Oh, I’ve hurt my knee'."The star also told how she had one of her feet "turning out" following the fall.At the time, Mary called for help from her husband Paul, who was watching cricket inside the house.But after he didn't answer, she phoned her son-in-law Dan who came straight over."He saw me.