FAMILY VALUES - ‘HOW DO I GIVE MY KIDS A BEAUTIFUL IMAGE OF THIS WORLD?'

TV COOK NADIYA HUSSAIN OPENS UP ABOUT COPING WITH RACISM RAISING HER THREE CHILDREN AND DEALING WITH DOWN DAYS

- SAMUEL MCMANUS-MAXWELL

She became an overnight success when she first hit our screens on The Great British Bake Off in 2015. The nation fell more in love with her each week until she was eventually crowned series winner.

And since her victory, Nadiya Hussain has become so much more than a Bake Off champion. She is a TV cookery host in her own right, a documentary maker, an author and a homeware designer.

But fans recently saw a different side to the usually chirpy star when she opened up on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories about the bullying and mental health issues she has faced, revealing she was bullied over her skin colour as a child and called, “Monkey, n-word, blackie.”

Speaking to OK!, the 37-year-old tells us the response to her interview has been divided.

“There are people who are really sceptical, and who find it very difficult to believe that I experienced any of that, but why should I be any different to anyone else? My experiences are my experiences,” she says.

“The fact that I can use my platform to talk about these things is really important to me. Not for my healing, it’s more for the people who are scared to open up. Seeing somebody like me, from an ethnic minority talking about abuse and bullying, it’s important to expose that.”

Here, Nadiya, who has children Musa, 15, Dawud, 14, and Maryam, 11, with husband Abdal, 40, talks about parenting, dealing with anxiety and why she’s not entering the Platinum Jubilee baking contest...

Hi, Nadiya! What do your children think about having a famous mum?