Nadiya Hussain found fame 'scary and destabilising'

Nadiya Hussain found fame "scary and destabilising" after winning 'The Great British Bake Off'.

The 39-year-old chef shot to stardom when she won the show in 2015 and has gone on to host a string of culinary programmes, but she admits she really thought she could go back to her normal life following her stint on the cookery series.

She told the BBC: "I was quite delusional. I thought I’d done Bake Off and would go back to finishing my degree."

Nadiya went on to reveal she was unprepared for the level of attention she received as she couldn't even go shopping without being recognised.

She explained: "I went in for bread and milk, and two hours later I was still at the supermarket and just couldn’t get away from people coming up to me and taking pictures. It was scary and destabilising."

It comes after Nadiya revealed she was exposed to the dark side of fame and had panic buttons installed in her home after receiving death threats.

Speaking on the 'Should I Delete That?' podcast, the TV star - who is mum to Musa, 12, Dawud, 11, and Mariam, eight, with husband Abdal - revealed: "We’ve had to have panic buttons put in. I was getting descriptions of how I and my children should die. The most horrific things. When we go out, we’re careful."

However, Nadiya has insisted her new role in the spotlight isn't all bad and she actually loves her job.

She told OK! Magazine: "I never imagined I would be where I am today. I am loving every second. When I wrote my first cookbook I thought, 'Well, this is the first and only cookbook I will ever write,' and here I am, still writing cookbooks. So that is pretty special. I don't take it for granted.

"I kept saying to everyone in the crew, 'You guys have a much harder job than I do.' And they were like, 'You realise that none of us can do what you do? Like none of us can do what you do.' I'm like, 'That's not true...'

"And a few years ago, it dawned on me that you can't do this unless you're good at it. I have to believe I'm good at it. I can't run on luck forever!"