I get shoved and insulted as a Muslim, Bake Off ’s Nadiya says
people, and we deal with it.”
When presenter Kirsty Young put it to her that her fame has been credited with doing “more for race relations than any government initiative”, Hussain said: “I genuinely find that astounding. I can’t understand how that happened.
“I sometimes feel like there’s quite a lot of pressure, because I’m not perfect. But the fact that anyone can look at me and say she’s done so much for race relations, then that’s a good thing. We live in such strained times, that if something as simple as a baking show can do something like that, that’s a good thing.”
Earlier this week, Hussain revealed the reason she first started wearing a headscarf was not for religious reasons but because she wanted to cover up her hair which she disliked.
She told that her parents weren’t particularly religious – and neither her mother or three sisters covered their hair when she was growing up – but she started to connect with Islam at school, reading about it in the RE section of the library.
She recalled: “My mum said: ‘Why does she want to cover her hair?’ And I said: ‘Well, I don’t care what society thinks, I wear it because I want to.’”
It was announced last week that Hussain will join the new series of
as a judge – alongside international chef and food writer Allegra McEvedy.
Hussain said: “I’m delighted to be joining
as a judge. This time last year I was in the Bake Off tent, and now I get to go back and help encourage the next generation to get their bake on. I am so excited.”
The full interview broadcast on Radio 4’s
today. is