Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has tearfully revealed that she has stepped down from her position as a teaching assistant at Giles Brook Primary School in Milton Keynes after spending just over three months in the role.
The 41-year-old baker, who claimed victory in the 2015 series of the BBC competition, announced the news with her million-plus Instagram followers on Monday.
Ms Hussain was moved to tears in the emotional video as she opened up about the decision after stepping back from TV.
“I had to make a really tough decision, one of the toughest I’ve ever had to make was stepping away from that job,” Ms Hussain told her followers.
Nadiya Hussain was the face of a number of BBC cooking shows | BBC
She had been working with Year One pupils in the Crickets Class, according to a publicly available school newsletter that announced her appointment in October.
Ms Hussain, who lives with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition causing widespread pain and fatigue, explained that the school environment proved impossible for someone with a compromised immune system.
“As you know, anyone who works in a school setting, there are lots of coughs and colds, bugs, and I just couldn’t get better,” she said.
The constant illness began affecting her mental wellbeing, leaving her unable to perform at her best.
“I was sick all the time, and it got to the point where it was affecting my mental health, and I just wasn’t performing, giving my best because I was always sick,” Ms Hussain revealed.
She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2024 and also suffers from a gastrointestinal autoimmune disease that impacts her gut and vitamin absorption.
Stress can exacerbate her symptoms, and she alleges that the uncertainty surrounding her television career had already taken a physical toll.
Ms Hussain sought the teaching role after BBC bosses decided not to recommission her cookery programme last year.
Nadiya Hussain has been a familiar face on cookery TV since winning Bake Off in 2015 | PAFollowing more than a decade on screen with shows such as Nadiya Bakes, Nadiya’s Fast Flavours and Nadiya’s Simple Spices, she found herself uncertain about her future direction.
Despite supposedly receiving approaches from rival broadcasters, including Channel 4 and ITV, she chose to pursue work in education rather than continue in television.
“I’ve always wanted to work with children in younger years as a teaching assistant,” she explained, adding that the application process itself was daunting.
Ms Hussain described the role as “one of the best jobs I’ve ever done” aside from raising her own three children, recalling how she woke each morning “with a spring in my step” eager to see the pupils.
Nadiya Hussain worked with the BBC for the best part of a decade | BBC
Fellow celebrities rallied around Ms Hussain on social media. Actress Lisa Faulkner, who won Celebrity MasterChef, wrote: “You are brilliant and I love you.”
Television doctor Dr Amir Khan added: “As a doctor I totally get this. You have to look after your health and I’ve no doubt you will find a way to work with children where you and they both thrive.”
Nadiya starred in several BBC cookery shows during her time with the corporation | BBC
Elsewhere, fellow Bake Off star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Whaite penned: “You’re an inspiration in everything you do.”
And former Bake Off winner Rahul Mandal weighed in: “We all are in the same boat of figuring stuff out. You always inspire me and thanks for speaking out and being you.”
