Born in Luton to a Bangladeshi family, Nadiya Hussain has been praised as a role model for young British Muslims and even received the backing of the Prime Minister.

The child of migrants who came to Britain seeking a better life, Nadiya grew up without an oven in her home and says she spent her childhood wondering why only ice-cream featured on the dessert menu at her father’s restaurant.

(BBC/Love Productions)
(BBC/Love Productions)

It was at nearby Challney High School for Girls that she was introduced to the world of traditional British crumbles, pies and pastry cakes by her cookery teacher, Mrs Marshall.

From the age of 12, Mrs Marshall fostered her love of baking. ”I had to make puff pastry in my first class. I remember my teacher Mrs Marshall saying I was really good.

“I got so into it that when Mrs Marshall used to prepare for her next class at lunchtime I would sneak in and watch her. She never minded. Eventually she said I could give her a hand. Over four years I got quite good,” she said.

Nadiya, 30, now lives in Leeds with her husband Abdal, a technical manager, and their three children, aged nine, eight and four.

The Great British Bake Off
Contestants on the Great British Bake Off 2015 (Mark Bourdillon/BBC/PA)

Flavours from her heritage have helped Hussain come top of the Bake Off class and earn three Star Baker titles from notoriously tricky judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

Her one-liners, captivating smile and fantastically expressive eyebrows – submitting with ease to every flash of horror, panic and pleasure that have crossed her face in the tent’s toughest series – quickly won over viewers.

Importantly for her, fans of the show have watched her whip up fizzy pop cheesecakes, a fiery snake charmer’s basket and bubblegum-flavoured pastry nuns while proudly wearing her traditional hijab.

Nadiya in her hijab (BBC/Love Productions)
Nadiya in her hijab (BBC/Love Productions)

She originally feared she would be dismissed as a “Muslim in a headscarf”, but told Radio Times, “I hope that, week by week, people have realised that I can bake – and just because I’m not a stereotypical British person, it doesn’t mean that I am not into bunting, cake and tea. I’m just as British as anyone else, and I hope I have proved that.”

She has become something of a heroine in her Luton home town, watched in admiration by young Muslim women and hailed by community leaders for helping to overturn prejudiced perceptions.

The Great British Bake Off's Nadiya
Nadiya has won 2015′s Great British Bake Off (Mark Bourdillon/Love Productions)

After nine years as a stay-at-home mum, she said it is “my time now for an adventure” and has begun studying for an Open University degree in childhood and youth studies.

Her victory will undoubtedly open new avenues, with a book deal and TV career reportedly already in the works.