I Feel Fearless Now

Nadiya Hussain talks to Nathalie Whittle about anxiety, the realities of an arranged marriage, and her new TV foodie adventure

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Before I meet Nadiya, 32, I wonder if post-Bake Off life might have changed the woman who charmed us with her “big fat British wedding cake”, those facial expressions and that tear-jerking victory speech. After all, she’s since baked a cake for the Queen, presented a documentary about Bangladesh, written three books and been named one of the most influential people in Britain. But Nadiya has hardly changed. She tells me about the first time a stranger recognised her in the street. “This guy said, ‘I know you,’ and I looked at him blankly. Then he said, ‘That’s it, you work at H&M!’ and I said, ‘Yes!’ You can hardly say you’re from Bake Off, can you!” It’s clear however that Nadiya’s now a self-assured, quietly confident woman, and she has two more TV series, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and The Big Family Cooking Showdown, plus two more books on the way. She lives with her husband, IT worker Abdal, and their three children, Musa, 10, Dawud, nine, and Maryam, six, in Milton Keynes.

THE NEW NADIYA

When I think back to pre-Bake Off Nadiya, I hardly recognise her. I’d suffered from panic disorder [recurring panic attacks] from the age of seven, and there I was at 30, having spent the past 10 years at home with the kids, using them as a security blanket wherever I went – I needed a brown bag just to get on the train on my own.

The big turning point happened behind the scenes during week six.