Being a public figure comes with a lot of responsibilities, and Nadiya Hussain takes them seriously. The Great British Bake Off 2015 winner, in a brave first step, opened up her lifelong struggle with "extreme anxiety" and her journey to get help in a documentary.
She allowed cameras to follow her to spread awareness about mental health issues.
"I'm also aware I'm incredibly lucky because there are lots of sufferers who are undiagnosed or who are not getting professional treatment," she said in Nadiya: Anxiety and Me, a documentary that saw her opening up about racism and bullying she suffered as a youngster.
A stay-at-home mum who loved cooking, Hussain is considered Bake Off's biggest success story. An inspiration for British Muslim women, Hussain has “done more for British-Muslim relations than 10 years of government policy,” states a report for Panorama.
Her journey to the top has been a fast-paced, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Since winning the competition, Hussain has found television roles as guest presenter, been commissioned to present cookery shows and baked the cake for the Queen's 90th birthday celebration.
She is also the author of Nadiya’s Kitchen, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure; kids cookbooks Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story and Nadiya's Bake Me a Festive Story; and has penned a novel titled The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters and The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters,. She has judged Junior Bake Off and fronted a two part documentary in Bangladesh The Chronicles of Nadiya.
"I'm never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again,” she said after winning the competition. “I'm never gonna say I can't do it. I'm never gonna say 'maybe'. I'm never gonna say 'I don't think I can'. I can and I will."
The 34-year-old was born in Luton in 1984, on Christmas Day, to a British Bangladeshi family. She developed an interest in cooking from an early age, thanks to her father who owns a restaurant.
Becoming a chef was not part of her plan. With the hopes of becoming a social worker, Hussain took up religious studies, English language and psychology in college. Although she made it into university, Hussain did not get an opportunity to attend.
In 2005, aged 20, Hussain married her husband Abdal and moved to Leeds. There she got busy bringing up her three kids, and a career was the last thing on her mind.
But Abdal pushed her to give the the Great British Bake Off a shot, because he wanted her to find herself.
“He said, ‘Your wings were clipped somewhere along the way but I think it’s time for you to fly’. So I entered Bake Off because he was right,” Hussain writes in her website. “I had lost myself in the madness that is life, I was everything, a daughter, a sister, a wife a mother but I still was nowhere near finding me."
Hussain entered the competition with trepidation, but has come out with flying colours.
It was a surreal moment for Hussain when it was announced she had won the show. All she remembers is handing back the trophy to host Paul Hollywood and saying, "Are you sure you haven't made a mistale?"
But winning has given her the courage to break boundaries and explore her talent.
Although she is a firm believer that nothing lasts forever, Nadiya wants to believe she can do this forever.
