Nadiya Hussain has revealed she has pivoted to a career in teaching after she was dropped by the BBC.
The TV chef had become a fixture on the broadcaster’s schedules for over a decade after winning the sixth series of The Great British Bake Off in 2015.
Her shows, however, including Nadiya’s British Food Adventure, Nadiya’s Everyday Baking and Nadiya’s Everyday Spices, were axed last year with the presenter revealing she had not been given a “definitive” reason.
Speaking to Woman & Home, Hussain revealed that she still “has no idea” as to why she was dropped by the BBC but has turned her attention to a different sort of career.
“I’m currently working as a teaching assistant at a lovely little primary school,” she said. “The plan is to gain some training and maybe in the future become a teacher.”
“’I had to do an application form, an interview, go in and sit in with the kids, and see how they reacted to me,” she said. “I did get people ringing me, asking, ‘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’”
The author, 41, of several cookbooks said that some people have questioned her decision to “go back to the bottom” after her successful stint on screen.
“There have been lots of tears, sadness and judgement,” she said. “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. Just because I’m famous doesn’t mean I’m at the top. I have been at my lowest at the top.
“So what does being at the top really mean? Since working at the school, I’ve had some of my highest moments.”
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Hussain went on to reveal that she has still not received any “closure” from the BBC over their decision to cancel her shows.
“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,” she said.
At the time, Hussain suggested that her shows were axed because she no longer fit the corporation’s “very neat box”.
“I can’t see why there’s a reason why my show wasn’t recommissioned,” she told We Need to Talk podcast, adding that she believes she simply “no longer fit that space anymore”.
“To be fair, I’m not comfortable in boxes anyway,” she said. “I prefer a glass ceiling to smash through, thank you very much. But I suppose there’s no space for me and and and I’m kind of alright with that.”
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said at the time: “After several wonderful series we have made the difficult decision not to commission another cookery show with Nadiya Hussain at the moment.”
They noted that Hussain is still “a much-valued part of the BBC family”.
