Nadiya Hussian is probably the biggest star to ever emerge from the Great British Bake Off tent.
She won series 6 of the show back in 2015 and has gone on to have cooking shows, authored a number of books and become a vocal advocate for British Muslim representation.
Beyond her one screen presence, Nadiya has spoken openly about her mental health struggles and her arranged marriage.
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Nadiya’s mental health difficulties stem back from when she was a teenager and were likely triggered by racist bullying she experienced while at school.
In a searingly open and honest programme for the BBC about mental health Nadiya discussed her panic attacks.
In Nadiya: Anxiety and Me, the bake off winner talks about how she kept her anxiety a secret for years before finally seeking out treatment.
She now uses CBT or cognitive behavioural therapy to help with keeping her panic attacks under control.
While filming the programme for BBC1 Nadiya described events that might have caused her panic disorder.
Opening up to a clinical psychologist Professor PaulSalkovskis about how her attacks feel like bullying she received, Nadiya says: “It reminds me of that moment when I was hiding under the sink and my head was flushed down the toilets.
“I still have that memory of the water going up my nose and knowing that if they don’t pull me up now I am going to drown with my head in this toilet.”
Professor Salkovskis said: “Nadiya’s generosity in opening up on camera about her difficulties and their underpinnings is both inspiring and humbling.
“She has brought courage and insight to her work on understanding anxiety both in general and for in terms of her own issues”.
Nadiya has also written about her experiences of anxiety titled My Monster and Me.
The TV personality has also been very open about other areas of her personal life including her marriage.
(Image: BBC)
At the age of 19, Nadiya married Abdal Hussain, whom she had only met once before as part of an arranged marriage.
She spoke to Good Housekeeping about the tradition in 2017 saying she didn’t want her children to go through the same process.
She said: “It’s tough – you are pretty much marrying a complete stranger. We need to move with the times.
“I don’t think [my children] need me to find them a husband or a wife. They will do a better job than I will.”
Nadiya continued to explain her marriage situation.
“I had an arranged marriage, and learnt you have to persevere and remember we are all human and all have faults.
“Obviously my husband Abdal has more faults than I do! We had to live through the good and the bad, and have come out the other side.
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“Love is strange… It creeps up on you and then smacks you in the face.
“I didn’t know my husband, and then we had two children, and then I fell in love with him.”
“We had to live through the good and the bad, and have come out the other side” she added.
The couple reaffirmed their vows in 2018 and share 3 children together, two sons and a daughter.
Nadiya is appearing alongside Lady Gaga and Adam Driver on Graham Norton’s star-studded couch this Friday at 10:35pm on BBC1.
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