Nadiya Hussain encouraged Royal Mail customers to put the festive ‘icing on the cake’ by posting early for Christmas.

Nadiya also reminded customers to always to use the postcode on cards and parcels, so that Royal Mail workers can sort the festive mailbag as quickly as possible.

The First Class baker, who brought her own tasty special delivery to South Midlands Mail Centre in Northampton, said: "I know how much preparation I put into my cooking to make sure everything turns out just right.

“It is the same for Royal Mail, who have been preparing for the busy festive season well in advance, to make sure all the cards and gifts arrive at their destination in time to be enjoyed at Christmas.”

She said: “We can all help at this busiest time of year for Royal Mail by posting our cards and gifts early, supporting the postmen and women who deliver to more than 29 million addresses around the country.”

The South Midlands mail centre workers and Christmas temporary workers were treated to Nadiya’s mouth-watering “red postbox cake”. They explained how important it is for cards to have correct addresses and postcodes as well as making sure parcels are carefully and securely wrapped.

Sue Whalley, Royal Mail’s Chief Operations Officer, said: “Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail and our customers. We encourage people to post and order presents early to help us spread the workload in the run up to Christmas. The postcode is never more important than at this time of year and we would encourage everyone to use it on cards and parcels.

“We are especially delighted that Nadiya has joined us to help promote our festive messages on posting early for Christmas.”