Nadiya Hussain is back on TV in Nadiya’s Family Favourites armed with that mega-watt smile.
But behind her warm front, she has battled some very dark times – being bravely open about her struggle with anxiety.
And in 2019, she took the decision to open up on a sexual assault she endured when she was a child that left her living with a severe case of anxiety.
The Great British Bake Off winner originally spoke about her ordeal in her memoir Finding My Voice, though admitted she questioned whether to include it or not.
However, she bravely decided to include her memories so that she could raise awareness about the ‘big problem’ within her community.
Read more: Nadiya Hussain on the second wedding
Post-traumatic stress disorder cause
In the book she explained that she had been assaulted by a relative in Bangladesh when she was just five years old.
However, she only understood the gravity of what had happened years later during a sex ed lesson at school.
Her reaction was to run to the toilet and be sick.
Although the assault took place over 30 years ago, Nadiya was convinced that she is now struggling with panic attacks because of it, as well as the intense racist bullying she endured at school.
“No doubt that would have played a role in my PTSD, my panic disorder,” she said in an interview around the time of the book release. “”
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