Nadiya Hussain said she faced criticism when she moved from baking into presenting but feels it is important for women to show they are “multifaceted”.
The 37-year-old went on to host a range of TV programmes after winning the Great British Bake Off in 2015.
Hussain, who is the cover star of the July edition of Good Housekeeping, told the magazine she initially thought the industry had no space for her but now feels like she “owns it”.
Reflecting on her career move, she said: “I was known as a baker so it was really nerve-racking. There was a lot of criticism and I had to unhear some of that.
“But I’m so much more than just a baker. I think it is really important, especially as women, to show that we are multifaceted and to not be afraid of taking that leap into an environment that you don’t think you fit into.
“I jumped into a world that I thought had no space for me – and now I own it.”
Hussain has presented shows including the documentary The Chronicles of Nadiya as well as the TV cookery series Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and Nadiya’s Family Favourites.
She was also a judge on Junior Bake Off and has featured on BBC One’s The One Show and Saturday Kitchen.
The TV star said she feels that preconceptions of gender roles have evolved for younger generations.
She explained: “When I was growing up, men were revered.
“They were the ones who were going to carry the family name and who were going to be financially better off than the women, but now the lines have blurred – and that has an impact on parenting.
“I’m not raising my boys to be stronger than my girl; they are equals.
“The one difference is that I drum into my daughter the importance of financial independence.”
The mother-of-three revealed she would love to adopt another child but feels she would need to discuss it with her children.
She said: “I would love to do it. I have the space for one more person but there’s so much more to consider now that my kids are older and more opinionated; we’d have to sit down with them and discuss it as a family.
“Our lives have changed a lot since we first thought about adopting but if someone said, ‘Here you go, you can look after this child for the rest of your life,’ I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Read the full interview with Nadiya Hussain in the July 2022 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale from June 1.
