Nadiya Hussain ‘facing judgement’ for new job working in a school after BBC axe
Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has turned her back on showbusiness and is now working as a teaching assistant after the BBC axed her cookery show last year.
The TV chef, 41 was one of the biggest breakout stars of Bake Off following her win in the sixth series in 2015, going on to front several shows for the broadcaster, including the award-nominated Nadiya Chronicles, Nadiya Bakes and Nadiya’s Fast Flavours.
After the BBC’s decision to drop her – something she still ‘doesn’t know why’ happened – Nadiya said she’d been courted with other offers from the likes of ITV and Channel 4.
However, she’s chosen to pursue a career in teaching instead – despite feeling ‘judged’ by some for doing so.
‘I’m currently working as a teaching assistant at a lovely little primary school. The plan is to hopefully gain some training and maybe in the future become a teacher,’ she told Woman & Home magazine.
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‘I had to do an application form, an interview, go in and sit in with the kids and see how they reacted to me. I did get people ringing me, saying, “Sorry, is this actually the Nadiya Hussain?” and I’m like, “Yes, it is and I am looking for a job and I would like an opportunity”.’
Nadiya shared that she was ‘really enjoying being in an environment where I’m not the centre of it’, even though friends and loved ones had questioned her for taking a step backwards, as they see it.
However she brainstormed her career move with the support of her husband Abdal, knowing she could be faced with a fork in the road.
‘There have been lots of tears, sadness and judgement. People [close to me] have asked, “Why would you go from being here, right at the top to being at the bottom?” but I don’t see it that way,’ the TV star and author, who received an MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours, added.
‘Just because I’m famous doesn’t mean I’m at the top. I have been at my lowest at the top.’
She also insisted that since she started working at the school, she’s ‘had some of my highest moments’ because ‘nothing beats’ helping the kids she works with feel safe and achieve their goals.
When it came to the BBC cancelling her show, Nadiya revealed she had a ‘gut feeling that something wasn’t right’ after 10 years of a regular schedule between her TV work and cookbooks.
She was informed by her agent that the BBC would not be commissioning her to do another TV show and has still not received an explanation as to why from her previous employers.
The former Junior Bake Off judge said: ‘I appreciate that it’s an industry, it’s a business and it’s about making money, but I still don’t know [why they’ve let me go] because I haven’t had a conversation with anyone.
‘There are no answers, no closure.’
In a statement at the time, a BBC spokesman said: ‘After several wonderful series we have made the difficult decision not to commission another cookery show with Nadiya Hussain at the moment.
‘Nadiya remains a much-valued part of the BBC family, and we look forward to working together on future projects.’
At the time the TV personality took to social media to explain that she had always been made to ‘feel grateful’ for the opportunities she received, which added an ‘invisible pressure’ to not voice her frustrations or her desire for more.
And while she is not interested in TV work right now, Nadiya knows what would pique her interest to return, including more creative input in cookery shows.
She’s also interested in creating travelogues and documentaries ‘about issues that matter’, following her 2019 BBC One documentary Nadiya: Anxiety and Me.
The April issue of woman&home is on sale on February 26.
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