Delia Smith

Our national treasure came from humble beginnings to be 'queen of the crumble'. Delia left school at 16 without a qualification to her name and worked as a hairdresser and travel agent.

Her interest in cookery books landed her a first food writing job at the Daily Mirror and Evening Standard. She subsequently saw a gap in the market for a people that wanted to learn how to cook. Delia has since sold 17 million cookery books in the UK.