Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain insists she ‘won’t be grateful’ after BBC cookery show is axed

Evening Standard

Nadiya Hussain has addressed the reaction to the BBC’s decision not to renew her cookery show, marking the end of a decade-long partnership with the broadcaster.Earlier this month, the Great British Bake Off winner revealed she would not be returning to screens with a new BBC series. The 40-year-old first rose to fame after winning Bake Off in 2015 and has since fronted several popular food and travel shows for the channel.

Transcript

00:00I've received tons of messages since talking about my situation with VBC.

00:04Messages from people telling me to be grateful for the opportunity and be thankful for how far I've come.

00:13Now, my whole life as a child in an immigrant household, I used to think I had to be grateful all the time

00:20because I watched my family always grateful.

00:24Grateful for being let in, grateful for having work, even if you're underpaid.

00:27Grateful for safety, even if it meant silence.

00:31Always grateful. Grateful even when I feel tired, lonely or disrespected.

00:39At first, gratitude felt right because it was instilled in me from a young age.

00:43It's all I saw. But after a while, it starts to get really heavy.

00:48Gratitude became something that I was expected to wear like a uniform.

00:51Anytime I voiced frustration or sadness or wanted more, I could feel the invisible pressure.

00:58Like, how dare you complain? Aren't you lucky just to be here?

01:02But here's what I've come to understand.

01:05I'm allowed to feel more than just thankful.

01:09I am a human being and I'm allowed to feel angry when I'm treated unfairly.

01:15I'm allowed to want better for myself and for my family.

01:20I'm allowed to speak up.

01:22I'm allowed to exist.

01:24I'm allowed to exist fully.

01:26Complex, emotional, hopeful, sometimes critical, just like anyone else.

01:31So gratitude has its place, but it shouldn't be a muzzle.

01:36It shouldn't be a muzzle like a dog.

01:38We didn't come here just to survive.

01:41We came here to live, to grow, to contribute, to belong.

01:45Not as a guest, but as a person who has rights and dreams and dignity, just like everyone else.

01:51So no, I won't always be grateful.

01:54And that doesn't make me ungrateful.

01:57It makes me human.

01:58That's what it does.

01:59It makes me human.

02:01So I've got here through hard work, through determination, through talent.

02:08So no, I won't be grateful.

02:10I got here because I'm good at what I do.

02:13So yeah, just something to think about.

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