Tom and Henry Herbert, The Fabulous Baker Brothers, are so busy it’s almost impossible to pin them down.

But I finally managed to nab them on a layby on the side of the M4. Oh the glamour. Having been up with the larks baking, before setting off on the road for a day of interviews and TV appearances, you’ll get the gist of how hard these boys are working. I ask what motivates this handsome duo.

Hard work is the easy answer. Hard work and ambition. Although Tom and Henry Herbert come across as fun and laid-back, their fledgling TV career is a result of a ferocious work ethic and a passion for what they do, as well as charm, enthusiasm and cheeky smiles.

They make it all look effortless, but this has been a long time coming, and not only is their TV and book a reflection of this, but it also acknowledges the way the brothers have kept the family business afloat in an age when most butchers and bakers have sunk without a trace.

Because not only do these two cook like gods, but they run their own bakery and butchery, side-by-side in Gloucestershire’s Chipping Sodbury, where they have been local celebrities for quite some years, as fifth-generation bakers.

“Baking is our lives. It’s what we talk about and what we do. We live, eat and breathe it, which, when growing up, can be a blessing and a curse, because you can’t get away from it and there is always work that needs doing,” Tom, the eldest says. “But it puts fire in our bellies. Although I do remember in my late teens doing night shifts it was a nightmare trying to get to sleep above such a busy shop.”

Yet Henry and Tom have only recently joined forces. Henry was a chef with a string of impressive restaurants and awards under his apron. But when the Hobbs House Bakery’s neighbouring shop fell empty, Henry got the call that changed his life. Did he want to come home and open it as a butchery?

“Of course,” was the answer and Henry got stuck in with his usual zest, transforming it into a hub as successful as the bakery next door.

Almost inevitably, then came the TV show, The Fabulous Baker Brothers proving an instant hit. And yet their “journey” hasn’t been as much of a whirlwind as you’d expect. Both Henry and Tom have courted cameras for several years, separately appearing in various shows as guest cooks. It was only when one bright TV producer realised they were brothers that The Fabulous Baker Brothers was born. “Mum always said I was a bull in a china shop,” Tom grins, “but I am an opportunist. So this isn’t about fame and fortune, because working together is something we already do,” the 34-year-old, says. “And when you consider I run bread-making courses for eight people in Chipping Sodbury who might then go home and tell other people, to teach millions how to bake on Ch4 on a Wednesday night is overwhelming. I couldn’t have dreamt of it happening. It’s accessible baking for a whole new audience.”

So has it transformed their lives? “People seem excited something is going on locally and like coming to Chipping Sodbury for the day, but some just grin at us through the window,” Henry, 24, says.

“And people do come in and try to touch Henry’s arms,” Tom teases. “But this is all new. The book hasn’t even been out for a week and it’s number 3 on the Amazon charts. The show is going down a storm.”

And what about their families? Both are married, Tom with four kids, do their domestic lives suffer? “Our wives knew when they met us that we were married to the job and we work evenings and weekends. But we enjoy it and it’s never a chore,” Henry says.

Tom adds: “And I involve my kids as much as possible. Because this is the world we were born into. Getting up at the crack of dawn is normal.”

Baking is one thing, but touring the country’s bookstores and meeting fans another. “We have resorted to extreme delegation,” Tom jokes, “and we feel like show ponies.” “But we haven’t had a nervous breakdown yet,” his brother says cheerfully, “although it’s on the cards”.

“And when we come to Oxford we’re setting up a bakery instore at Waterstones,” says Tom, immediately enthusiastic about the idea, “and although we haven’t met our fans in the flesh yet we have each other for protection,” and they both howl with laughter at the thought, before hurtling off to their next engagement, like two bulls in said china shop.

Tom and Henry appear at Waterstones Oxford from noon on Saturday where you can meet the boys, get a copy of The Fabulous Baker Brothers (Headline, £20) and pick up a selection of their fantastic bread and cakes. www.waterstones.com or ring 01865 790212.