Nadiya Hussain, the 2015 Great British Bake Off winner, has spoken out about racism, gaslighting and pay disparity in the TV industry, as she reclaims her career after a decade at the top. In an interview, she revealed that she is paid less than her white counterparts and has often felt like a 'palatable version of a Muslim' on screen.
Hussain, known for her warmth and upbeat persona, recently went rogue by posting an Instagram video criticising the BBC for not commissioning another cookery show. She accused the industry of gaslighting and said that as a Muslim woman, she has not always been supported or allowed to fulfil her potential. The BBC responded by saying they had made a 'difficult decision' not to commission another show at the moment.
Since then, Hussain has left her agent and manager and taken control of her career. She described the past year as 'really exposing' but also 'enlightening', giving her the chance to shape her own future. 'It's really freeing to be able to just say, what do I want out of this?' she said.
Hussain’s latest cookbook, Nadiya’s Quick Comforts, focuses on indulgent dishes like deep-fried cannelloni and golden syrup dumplings, rejecting current food trends around protein and weight loss. She argued that society has become scared into believing that everything we eat is bad for us, taking the joy out of life.
Reflecting on her career, Hussain admitted she had become a 'caricature' of herself, manufactured to be comfortable for audiences. She has long spoken about the overwhelming whiteness of TV and publishing, and now accepts that she cannot fix a broken system. 'It’s always been really difficult to be the only person like me in a room,' she said.
