WHEN Phil Turner and his team baked the best pie in Britain they knew they had created a recipe for success – but little did they know the delicious steak and ale treat would become the star of a new BBC show.

Turner’s Pies celebrated with glee when the dish was voted supreme champion at last year’s prestigious British Pie Awards.

Judges handed out a score of 99/100 saying the perfect pastry parcel was “a clear winner and head and shoulders above the rest”.

Now the Sussex-based family-run business is to feature in a BBC documentary celebrating Britons’ love of pies with a focus on master baker Phil as he goes about preparing Turner’s Pies’ entry at this year’s awards in March.

Documentary maker Anthony Bartram says filming will capture the build-up to the awards.

He said: We’ll then return to Turner’s Pies to see more of the operation and hear about the lovely family story behind the business in the spring and the programme will be broadcast later this summer.”

Phil, who oversees the business’s four shops in Chichester, Bognor, Rustington and Worthing, says he is delighted to feature in the film.

He said: “It’s a fantastic endorsement of what we do and really exciting.

“We were overjoyed to win the pie of pies award in 2018 and when you think we triumphed over 950 other pies it’s an absolutely outstanding achievement.

“Now the challenge is to be in the running once more, and we’re quietly confident we can do that.”

The awards beat the drum for an industry which sees 75 per cent of Brits eating at least one pie a month and spending a whopping £1.2 billion a year in so doing.

A spokesman explains: “The British Pie Awards recognise the craft and skills of those that produce them while promoting British produce and our regional specialities.

“The awards have become an institution for pastry connoisseurs.

“This is the 11th anniversary and we have judged well over 8,000 pies over the years.”

To mark British Pie Week in March Turner’s Pies is running a promotion for click-and-collect purchases and for people who live near one of the outlets – watch out for a flyer via door drop delivery offering ten per cent off selected produce.

Phil said: “If you know about us but have not yet tried our delicious range of fantastic goodies this is the perfect chance to come in and see exactly why we are championed as the best pie-makers in the country.”

In 2016 Turner’s Pies took home four first places at the eighth annual British Pie Awards in Melton Mowbray.

Its award-winning pies included the steak and stilton offering and Highland top rump and potato pie.