In 2015, Nadiya Hussain was statistically more popular than the Prime Minister. Some may suggest that accolade has since been slightly tarnished because the PM in question was David Cameron… However, 15m watched Hussain become The Great British Bake Off champion – a higher number than those who voted Conservative in that year’s general election. On Kate Garraway’s Life Stories (ITV), Hussain’s explanation was simple: “Because cake is more interesting than politics.”
Now a TV chef and bestselling author, Hussain described her career as “a happy accident”. However, this charming interview encapsulated why she’s so beloved. She was relentlessly honest, good humoured and highly inspiring.
The most moving segment came when she discussed the vile bullying she had experienced at school. This was when her mental health struggles began, and she was admirably open about still suffering from anxiety disorder and panic attacks, and about the Islamophobia her family experiences on a regular basis. Hussain and her daughter were recently called “terrorists” in public.
She had the honour of baking the Queen’s 90th birthday cake. Hussain playfully described how Her Majesty took it home in Tupperware and served it to the Obamas the following day. We heard how her arranged marriage blossomed into a touching love story. Husband Abdal was in the studio audience and the couple’s palpable affection was lovely to behold, though Garraway played on it a little too much. When she tried to stoke an argument about toilet roll, proceedings lapsed into a pale imitation of Mr & Mrs.
Some viewers won’t miss previous inquisitor Piers Morgan, but his strength was his terrier-like interviewing style – doggedly determined to wring out revelations or tears, preferably both. It’s courageous of Morgan’s former Good Morning Britain colleague to follow him into the hosting hot seat, but Garraway has acquitted herself well so far.
She might lack Morgan’s tenacity but compensates in empathy and warmth. It’s hard to imagine Morgan baking a disastrous cake from Hussain’s recipe, then merrily taking a sledgehammer to it, as Garraway did. There is also the suspicion that Hussain may not have participated in the programme had Morgan still been presenter. Did she cry? Not quite, but I’ll wager many viewers did.
The running order of this series has been rejigged several times. Charlotte Church’s interview has been bumped back twice and will now air next week instead. Hopefully the delay is because the chat with Church is so incendiary that ITV’s lawyers needed extra time to make it broadcastable (though the boring truth is that Church is possibly one of the finalists in this weekend’s Masked Singer final and ITV wanted to wait). In the meantime, Hussain filled the gap nicely. Like a cup of tea and a slice of cake, in fact.
