Nadiya Hussain says sexual assault by relative ‘played a part in my PTSD’

Nadiya Hussain, winner of the Great British Bake Off crown, has spoken of the trauma of being sexually assaulted by a relative in her childhood.

Hussain has previously said she suffered panic attacks “every few days” during filming for the 2015 series in which her Big Fat British Wedding Cake saw her take the title.

Ahead of the publication of her memoir, the 34-year-old told the Mail on Sunday of how an incident in Bangladesh when she was five has left its mark on her life.

She told the paper: “No doubt that would have played a role in my PTSD, my panic disorder. It must have done, because it’s a memory that has stayed with me forever.”

Hussain also told the paper about incidents of bullying at school, where she would have her head stuck down a toilet for being “too dark”.

She added the first time she heard the term suicide, she considered it to be like a “bus ticket” away from unhappiness.

“It was, like, ‘What? I can buy this ticket and I can just go and I’d never get bullied again?’,” she said.

Since GBBO, Hussain was named as one of the most influential 500 people in the UK by Debrett’s and has written a cookbook for children.