Nadiya Hussain

Nadiya Jamir Hussain (née Begum; born 25 December 1984) is a British television chef, author and television personality.

She was invited to bake a cake for the 90th birthday celebrations of Elizabeth II.

She rose to fame after winning the sixth series of BBC's The Great British Bake Off in 2015.

Since winning, she has signed contracts with the BBC to host the documentary The Chronicles of Nadiya and TV cookery series Nadiya's British Food Adventure and Nadiya's Family Favourites; co-presented The Big Family Cooking Showdown; and has become a regular contributor on The One Show.

Hussain is a columnist for The Times Magazine and has signed publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Hodder Children's Books and Harlequin.

She has appeared as a guest panellist on ITV's Loose Women.

Hussain appeared in and won the sixth series (Season 3 on PBS, or Collection 3 on Netflix in the US) of The Great British Bake Off which aired from 5 August to 7 October 2015.

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 cake 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.

Her online followers describe themselves as "Nadiyators" and she also won the backing of then Prime Minister David Cameron.

On 25 December, Hussain made a cameo appearance in the BBC One show Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show recorded at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

In August 2016, Hussain was presenter of a two-part food travelogue, The Chronicles of Nadiya, on BBC One, in which she travelled to Bangladesh to trace her culinary roots.

She visited her paternal grandfather's village in Sylhet in the northeast of Bangladesh.

She cooked for the crew of one of the country's famous paddle steamers, 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 immediately after The Great British Bake Off on 24 August, and was watched by 4.5 million viewers, a 20.5% share of all television viewers during the broadcast slot.

In November 2016, Hussain was a judge on the fourth series of Junior Bake Off on CBBC.

Hussain replaced Mary Berry on the competition show in which 40 children aged between nine and twelve compete to create the best cakes and treats.

On 21 December 2016, Hussain presented a two-hour cookery show at her home on BBC Radio 2 alongside Olly Smith as part of BBC's Christmas radio line-up.

The show was her first new programme after signing a deal to make the BBC her 'home', rebuffing speculation she would join Channel 4's version of Bake Off.

In 2017, Hussain was named by Debrett's as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK and was on BBC News' 100 Women list.

She was also shortlisted for Children's Book of the Year prize at the British Book Awards for Bake Me A Story and was nominated for Breakthrough Star at the Royal Television Society Awards for The Chronicles of Nadiya.

Ted Cantle, the author of a government report on community cohesion, said Hussain had done "more for British-Muslim relations than 10 years of government policy".

Hussain is a second-generation British Bangladeshi, born and raised in Luton, Bedfordshire, where she attended Maidenhall Infant School, Challney High School and Luton Sixth Form College.

She has five siblings: three sisters and two brothers.

Hussain's father, who originates from Beanibazar, was a chef and owned an Indian restaurant.

Hussain started wearing a hijab at age 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.

She revealed her mental health difficulties in a Sport Relief film and tackled childhood anxiety in her book My Monster and Me.

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 mum" living in Leeds with her husband, an IT specialist, and three children, while studying for an Open University degree in Childhood and Youth Studies.

When she won the final they moved to Milton Keynes nearer to London so that she could pursue a culinary career.

The series was nominated at the 2017 National Television Awards under 'Factual Entertainment'.

Hussain was nominated for Breakthrough star at the 2017 Royal Television Society Awards.