Nadiya Hussain had panic attacks "every few days" on ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
The 34-year-old TV chef has suffered panic attacks since the age of 10 due to the horrific bullying she experienced in primary school, and she has revealed that she was plagued with anxiety throughout her time on the amateur baking show, which she won in 2015, and admitted each week was a real "struggle", especially as no one was aware of what she was going through.
Nadiya told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Every few days. It was very frequent. It was out of control. It was there and the truth is, as many panic attacks I was having during ‘Bake Off’, I was having the same amount at home, alone in my house.
"Nobody knew. Nobody knew about my panic attacks or my panic disorder."
The author felt like her anxiety was just part of her "personality" because she was always "unhappy" and she is thankful to her husband Abdal Hussain for supporting her.
DJ Nihal Arthanayake asked Nadiya: "So that speech you gave, which inspired so many people at the end of Bake Off … was there something more specific you were talking about that perhaps those of us that didn’t know about your anxiety and panic wouldn’t have picked up on?"
To which she replied: "Yeah. I’ve spent most of my adult life being afraid because my anxiety has been part of my life for such a long time.
"It got to a point in my life where I started to believe that that was just my personality.
"I was just the person who was always unhappy, always not pleased, always anxious, always not quite fully involved. And I just felt that was part of my personality.
"I didn’t think I would ever win ‘Bake Off’. I certainly didn’t think I’d get on and when I did every week was a battle for me, every week I was having panic attacks, every week I was struggling, but I had my husband at home for support so I was very lucky in that sense."
Nadiya was speaking about her BBC One documentary ‘Nadiya: Anxiety and Me’, in which she has detailed her battle with panic attacks and anxiety.
Nadiya Hussain had panic attacks ‘every few days’ on Bake Off
