Mary Berry fights tears after scammers use her image to endorse cannabis products
The much-loved television chef revealed that scammers have used her name and image in the past to front scams
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Mary Berry fights back tears tonight as she tells Watchdog of how scammers used her image to endorse cannabis oil products.
The ex-Bake Off star, 85, says she is “absolutely shattered” after fans paid huge amounts for goods they believed she had endorsed.
Asked what she knows about CBD oil, Mary tells host Matt Allwright: “I know nothing about it. It is nothing to do with me.”
People lured in by Facebook ads for a CBD oil supplement and face cream – with fake photos appearing to show Mary holding the goods – were charged a low initial rate before prices shot up to £200.
Looking emotional, Mary tells Matt she feels a “sense of responsibility”, adding: “And there’s nothing I can do.”
Explaining why she thinks her image was used to sell the product, which claims to relieve chronic pain, she says: “I had polio when I was a child and because I’ve got a bit of a wonky hand, they think it’s arthritis and perhaps this is the cure.”
Mary complained to Facebook, which pulled the ads.
But scores of fans have told her they fell for it.
Mary says: “I was just absolutely shattered.”
Matt reports that Bionic Bliss, behind the products, blamed the use of Mary’s image on marketing firms.
Watchdog is now part of The One Show, on BBC1 from 7pm.
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