Nadiya Hussain was abused by a relative when she was five years old.
The 34-year-old TV star – who won ‘The Great British Bake Off’ in 2015 – has admitted the horrific incident has haunted her ever since, and was a contributory factor in her suicide attempt, which subsequently left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, Nadiya shared: "I’ve only told my sisters recently and, growing up, I had a close friend at school who I told. It turned out a very similar thing had happened to her.
"It’s important to talk about it because it probably happens much more than we care to talk about.
"If that happened to my children, I don’t even want to say what I would do. I have no words."
What’s more, Nadiya has admitted to being bullied at school for being "too dark".
She also explained that, at the age of ten, she first heard the word suicide and thought it could be a "bus ticket".
Nadiya – whose new memoir is called ‘Finding My Voice’ – said: "I can only equate it to a feeling similar to being able to buy a bus ticket.
"It was, like, ‘What? I can buy this ticket and I can just go and I’d never get bullied again?’"
Nadiya Hussain was abused at the age of five
