Nadiya Hussain has torn into the harsh reality of TV fame. The Great British Bake Off winner reckons she’ll “definitely make less money” and have to “work 10 times harder” than Mary Berry—because she simply can’t match the former judge’s celebrity longevity.
“I would have loved to have seen that for myself,” Hussain said of Berry’s decades-long primetime success. But the 90-year-old’s legendary TV career is something she feels she can’t achieve “because I’m not white.”
Inclusion? Not What It Seems
Nadiya insists her faith and ethnicity act as barriers in an industry that promises diversity, but doesn’t deliver long-term careers for minorities.
“We don’t have longevity. I can’t even find another Muslim woman to equate myself to, or stand shoulder to shoulder with. There’s this show of, ‘Look, we’re inclusive’, until we’re not. But it’s not about being inclusive in the moment,” she told PA.
She revealed the financial cost of this unequal playing field: “I’ll definitely make less money for it. And that is a subject that makes people really uncomfortable… I have to work 10 times harder.”
Hussain added the emotional toll of constantly having to prove her identity and worth. “I have to constantly prove my worth and to constantly be grateful. I have to constantly show that I’m British enough or Bangladeshi enough or Muslim enough. But that’s hard to carry all of that and to do a job and to show up bright and breezy, and it’s quite a lot.”
Brands Back Off, BBC Cuts Show
She also disclosed that brands are shying away from working with her. “There aren’t that many brands that want to work with me anymore because there is a version of me that just makes them uncomfortable,” she said. But Hussain is undeterred: “If our views don’t align, then I don’t want to work with you anyway.”
The cancellation of her BBC cookery show marked a turning point for Hussain.
“When BBC cancelled the show, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I see what’s happening’. And so from that point, I got rid of my management. I needed to start from scratch,” she said.
She refused to be turned into a “manufactured caricature” or a diversity token. “It’s hard not to feel like a token, because it’s almost like we’re allowed a certain amount of space, until that space no longer exists for us. When the box has been ticked.”
Nadiya Still Dreams Big
Despite the brutal industry realities, Nadiya wants the same lasting success as Mary Berry.
“I don’t want to be a token, but because I’m good at it, because I know my shows were amazing.”
She has openly criticised the BBC’s decision to end her TV shows. After stepping away to try teaching, Hussain quit the role after three months, citing mental and physical health strains.
A BBC spokesperson responded to her latest comments: “After many wonderful series, we made the difficult decision not to commission another cookery show with Nadiya Hussain for the time being. We remain open to working with her in the future.”
