The Great British Bake Off contestant Nadiya Jamir Hussain anxious she would be dismissed by viewers as a “Muslim in a headscarf” before the current series was broadcast, but now says the response to the hit BBC1 cookery programme has shown how tolerant and accepting British society is.
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He’s the icing on the cake for many a Great British Bake Off fan – and is being bombarded with countless romantic offers. “It’s the last thing I want to do, to be honest!”
While her Bangladeshi background didn’t usually feature deserts, that hasn’t stopped Nadiya whipping up show-stopping treats, with flavours occasionally inspired by her culture.
“There were two weeks when I did really badly, and those were the weeks when I didn’t have sushi, so from then on it was a must”.
In an interview with Radio Times, the 28-year-old said: “I wouldn’t have a girlfriend, I would have a boyfriend”.
“I wore my lucky socks, too”.
“I didn’t feel good about my chances at all”.
“I’m a Hindu, and I prayed quite a lot”, he told Radio Times.
“I’m just as British as anyone else, and I hope I have proved that”.
And when asked about potential relationships he added: ‘I wouldn’t have a girlfriend. “I suppose there is a god of food, but I didn’t pray to him”.
Tamal, who is one of the four bakers remaining in the competition, also talked about his work as a senior house officer at an intensive care unit – and how being on the show was an “icebreaker”.
The Great British Bake Off continues on Wednesday (September 30) at 8pm on BBC One.
Asked whether he had noticed the ardent fanbase he has attracted during the latest season of the BBC show, he said: “Yes, I have had a few offers on Twitter!”
Tamal has revealed that he is gay, dashing the hopes of the thousands of women who branded him “Hot Tamal-e”.
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Back at the beginning of this series of Bake Off, Tamal was inundated by racy tweets, with the anaesthetist writing: “Some of the lustier tweets have had me crying with laughter”.
