Bake Off's Nadiya says she will watch the show again now Alison Hammond has joined

Virgin Radio

21 Sep 2023, 10:50

Fans are counting down the days for Bake Off appearing on our screens again, and one previous winner will be giving it a go this year.

More than 13 million people watched Nadiya Hussain win the Great British Bake Off in 2015.

Since then she has avoided watching the show.

She blamed the ad breaks since it moved from the BBC to Channel 4, says she has been too busy, and also she knows too much about what goes on behind the scenes.

The baking star told Metro: "I don’t watch now but I may have a sneak peek this year because Alison Hammond is on it."

"She continued: "I think she’s an amazing presenter. She’s got a lot to give, and she will bring something very new and fresh to the show. It’ll be lovely to watch that.’

Nadiya was asked if she would ever come back to work on the show: "I’ve never been asked, but never say never. Who knows!"

"If there was an offer maybe I’d do it. It depends where I am in my life, if it’s something I want to do, or not want to do. I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes."

"I would probably have to be a judge as I’d be an awful host because I would want to taste everything and get involved in the assessing. I would struggle not to.

"I am who I am because of everything that happened after Bake Off. Apart from when I’m really anxious, I’m generally quite confident.

If she had her time again on the show, she said it would be different: "If I was participating now, I would be a lot louder.’

She is working on a new series for the BBC called Simple Spices.

It will be a six part series and a cookbook of Bangladeshi food: "This felt like a good time to focus on my Bangladeshi heritage."

"The eight spices that we use are ones that I’ve cooked with for my whole life, and I wanted to show that it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s what my sisters use, my mum and my grandma.

"I don’t often get to showcase and celebrate them, so this is for them.’

"My mum and grandma always made cooking look so easy, they were feeding huge families, 20 people, and I’ve taken that from them too – I don’t sweat when I’m cooking for lots of people, I love it."