Nadiya Hussain

Early life

Hussain is a second-generation British Bangladeshi born and raised in Luton, where she attended Challney High School and Luton Sixth Form College. She was one of six children, with three sisters and two brothers. Hussain's father was a chef and owned an Indian restaurant. Hussain started wearing hijab aged 14 to cover up her "bad hair more than anything else" because her father "cut it really badly." As a teenager she was diagnosed with panic disorder and underwent cognitive behavioural therapy.

Hussain learned basic cooking skills at school; her mother never baked and used the oven for storage. She taught herself the rest from recipe books and watching videos on YouTube. Her favourite book is a baking-themed book by Irish novelist Marian Keyes.

At the time of The Great British Bake Off, Hussain was a full-time mother living in Leeds with her husband, an IT specialist, and studying for an Open University degree in Childhood and Youth Studies. As part of a pre-arranged wager with her husband, their house was sold, within seven days, in preparation for a move to Milton Keynes.

The Great British Bake Off

In 2015, Hussain appeared in and won the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off. During the final she baked 16 iced buns in three hours, as well as raspberry-flavoured mille-feuille, to one of Paul Hollywood's recipes, in two hours, and a multi-layered presentation showstopper which took the form of "My Big Fat British Wedding Cake", in a time of four hours. During her acceptance speech, she said, "I'm never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. 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."

With more than 15 million viewers, the final was the most-watched show of 2015. Her appearance on the show, and ensuing popularity with audiences, were deemed important steps toward shifting stereotypes about the Muslim community and acceptance about cultural diversity.

Hussain established a large following on social media thanks to her stunning show-stoppers and her illuminating facial expressions, her online followers describe themselves as "Nadiyators" and also won backing of then Prime Minister David Cameron.

Junior Bake Off

In 2016, Hussain became judge on Junior Bake Off. Hussain replaced Mary Berry on CBBC’s version of the contest in which 40 children aged 9 to 12 compete to create the best cakes and treats.

The Chronicles of Nadiya

Hussain was presenter of two-part foodie travelogue, The Chronicles of Nadiya, in which she travels to Bangladesh to trace her culinary roots. She visits her paternal grandfather's village in the Sylhet region of north-east Bangladesh. She cooked for the crew of one of the country's famous paddle steamers that ply the waterways, and visited a riverside village where they still practise the ancient art of otter fishing. In the capital Dhaka, she helped Thrive, a charity delivering meals to deprived schoolchildren.

The first episode debuted straight after The Great British Bake Off aired on 24 August 2016 and was watched by 4.5 million viewers, a 20.5% share of all television viewers during the broadcast slot. The Chronicles of Nadiya was Nominated for 2017 National Television Awards under 'Factual Entertainment' category. For The Chronicles of Nadiya, Hussain was nominated for Breakthrough star of 2017 in the Royal Television Society Awards.

Nadiya's British Food Adventure

From July 2017 Hussain will present Nadiya's British Food Adventure, an eight-part series on BBC Two. The programme will see Hussain travelling across the country, visiting food producers, and then returning to her kitchen to reproduce some of the recipes she's found.

A tie-in cookery book, published by Michael Joseph, will feature new recipes that use British ingredients cooked in a Bangladeshi style, such as Masala eggy bread, Yorkshire pudding with chia seeds and aubergine pakoras with ketchup.

Big Family Cooking Showdown

In autumn 2017 Hussain will co-present The Big Family Cooking Showdown alongside Zoë Ball. The show is billed as a replacement to The Great British Bake Off (GBBO), following its move to Channel 4.

Media appearances

On Christmas Day 2015, Hussain made a cameo appearance in the BBC One show Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show recorded at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Hussain has appeared as a reporter for The One Show on BBC One.

Hussain is a guest presenter on Loose Women. She announced on the programme that she had been given the honour of baking Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday cake, an orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange butter cream. Hussain said: "When I told the kids (I was making a cake for the Queen), the boys were great at keeping it a secret. I told my daughter and she said, 'Oh Mary Berry? You’ve made lots of cakes for Mary Berry'."

In August 2016, Hussain was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, and was interviewed by Kirsty Young. She opened up about her struggles as a young mother, the social isolation suffered by some Muslim women and how her confidence grew during Bake-Off. She described the racial abuse she still receives on the street and, determined to be a good role model to her children, how she responds with the “dignity of silence”.

In December 2016, Hussain presented a two-hour cookery show at her home on BBC Radio 2 alongside Olly Smith as part of BBC radio Christmas lineup. The show is her first new programme after signing a deal to make the BBC her ‘home’ - scotching speculation she would join Channel 4’s version of Bake Off.

On 9 December Hussain was a guest on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show.

Newspaper and magazine columns

Hussain writes a weekly column for The Times Magazine, a part of the Saturday supplement of The Times, and was previously columnist for Essentials magazine.

Her recipes have also appeared in BBC's Good Food magazine, The Sun on Sunday's Fabulous magazine, The Guardian and The Telegraph.

Author

Hussain was signed by UK publisher Michael Joseph, part of Penguin Random House, for her debut book Nadiya's Kitchen, which is a collection of the recipes which she cooks for friends and family. In 2017, Michael Joseph is published a tie-in cookery book for Hussain's primetime eight-part BBC2 cookery series of the same name, Nadiya's British Food Adventure.

Hussain has written a children's book of stories and recipes, Bake Me A Story, published by Hodder Children's Books, which blends updated versions of fairytales (poor "Sleepless Beauty" just needs a nice cup of cardamom-infused hot chocolate to break her curse; resourceful Jack wins the giant over with yummy bean patties) with colourful illustrations and child-friendly recipes. In 2017, Bake Me A Story was shortlisted for Children’s Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards. Following the success, a second cookbook and storybook compilation, Nadiya's Bake Me a Festive Story will be published in October 2017.

The 2016 chart of the Top 100 Food & Drink books by book sales, compiled by industry analysts Nielsen, placed Hussain’s books Nadiya's Kitchen and Bake Me A Story, in third and fourth place respectively.

She is also writing three contemporary women’s fiction novels for Harlequin. Her debut novel was published in January 2017, The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters, explores life, faith and identity as a second-generation Bangladeshi in the UK through dysfunctional but loveable Amir family.

Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday

Hussain was commissioned by Buckingham Palace to bake Elizabeth II's cake as part of her 90th birthday celebrations. Hussain chose to bake an orange drizzle cake with orange curd and orange buttercream.

Other commissions

Hussain was commissioned by London Dungeon to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, and created a fire-inspired loaf. In June 2016, Hussain collaborated with Champneys Spa Hotel to create a special afternoon tea dessert. She was also commissioned by Disney to make an Alice inspired cake for 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' themed tea party in London.

Personal life

Hussain is married to Abdal Hussain which was an arranged marriage and together they have three children - two sons and a daughter. Hussain's birthday is on Christmas Day and her sister Sadiya's birthday is on Christmas Eve.

Hussain is ambassador for Starlight Children's Foundation, which supports lives of seriously ill children and is also WaterAid ambassador. Hussain has shown her support for Armistice Day by wearing a 'poppy headscarf', designed to commemorate the number of Muslim soldiers who fought in World War One as well as promote the wearing of the poppy amongst British Muslims.

Filmography