ITV chef Parveen Ashraf, known as the Spice Queen, has revealed the tragic death of her husband Qamar, who was killed during a robbery in Ghana six months ago. The mother of three broke her social media silence with an emotional video on Instagram, addressing her 27,700 followers for the first time this year.
Heartbreaking Instagram Announcement
In the video, Ashraf said: 'Hi everyone, it is Parveen the Spice Queen – but I am not even sure if I am still her.' She explained she had been away due to a personal tragedy and felt ready to return to work, though unsure what that would mean. Fighting back tears, she added: 'I had a personal tragedy and I lost my husband about six months ago. Those that have lost somebody, you will know how painful this is.'
She expressed her husband would not want her to wallow in self-pity, so she plans to get back to posting videos and recipes. The caption read: 'The pain of losing someone you love is all consuming and it’s easy to just let the grief take over, however for the sake of my own sanity, I am hoping to get back to work soon.'
A 38-Year Relationship
The couple had been together for 38 years. In a separate post, Ashraf shared a slideshow of photos set to 'Follow You, Follow Me' by Genesis. She wrote: 'I chose this song as I always told him that wherever he was, I would follow him - and I did.' She detailed moving with him from London to Leeds, Peterborough, and then to Ghana, leaving her two eldest children behind. She concluded: 'He is now in a different realm and I will follow him there too. Rest in peace my darling handsome, stubborn, witty, intelligent husband.'
Ashraf found fame with her ITV show Parveen's Indian Kitchen, which was hugely popular. She had not posted on social media since the tragedy, which occurred while Qamar was living in Ghana. She described the incident as being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.
