“I’m Still Pinching Myself
Winning The Great British Bake Off in 2015 made Nadiya Hussain an overnight star. Now she’s looking forward to her own show
Five years ago, Nadiya Hussain’s life was completely transformed when she won the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off. Then a stay-at-home mum of three, she stole the hear ts of the nation on the hit show and suddenly found herself thrust into the limelight.
Since then, she’s written cookbooks, fronted her own TV shows such as Nadiya’s Asian Adventure and Nadiya’s Family Favourites, and even baked a birthday cake for the Queen.
“I’ve done some incredible things and there are so many ‘pinch me’ moments,” smiles Nadiya. “But I think the highlight was being awarded an MBE. I’m first generation British, my parents are immigrants, and my grandparents came here and suffered horrific racist abuse. But they stayed because they believed it was the right thing to do for their family. They persevered and now we get to call this countr y our home because of them and their struggles. So to receive an MBE... for all my family, it’s really something.”
Though it was baking that made Nadiya a national treasure, she has avoided presenting her own baking programme since her life-changing win. But now she’s about to head back to the kitchen to do just that, with new six-par t BBC2 series Nadiya Bakes, in which she’ll be sharing her favourite homemade cakes and delicious pastries alongside exciting new recipes inspired by other bakers. She admits she’s excited
to be returning to her roots, but is glad she waited a while to do a show like this.
“I just think there would have been more pressure on me if I had gone back to baking straight after Bake Off. But now I think it’s a great time for a series like this, because baking brings lots of people joy, and a sense of peace and purpose. Especially someone like me who suffers from mental health issues,” says Nadiya, who has previously opened up about her debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, which began when she was a child.
Nadiya has been married to her husband Abdal for 15 years and together they have three children, sons Musa and Dawud, and a daughter, Mar ya. And she admits that her lucky brood get to be her taste-testers when she’s preparing for a big new BBC series like Nadiya Bakes.
“When I’m recipe testing, the kids wake up in the morning and they’ll have chocolate tar t or cake for breakfast,” she laughs. “Usually they like ever ything but if there’s something they don’t like they’ll be, like, ‘Mum – that can’t go in yet.’”
Nadiya says that she’s not one to rest on her laurels and thrives on being busy. Before lockdown, she was out in the US filming her next series, Nadiya’s American Melting Pot (scheduled for later this year). In the series she travels to two of the most diverse and vibrant hubs in modern
Nor th America – California and Louisiana – to find out how generations of migrants are changing the national menu. And she admits she’s excited that her programmes are now
“Baking brings people joy, so now is a great time for a series like this”