The Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain said she felt “self-conscious” about visiting a health spa but “braved it”.
Hussain, 33, has become a role model to Muslim women in the UK following her victory in the sixth series of the cookery competition in 2015.
On Tuesday, she shared a picture on her Instagram of her and two other women at a spa while wearing headscarves.
The post was captioned: “We’re always really apprehensive doing totally normal things like going to a spa. Our swimwear uses up a little more material, including the extra material on our head ! It’s hard not to feel a little bit self conscious but we braved it.”
Hussain, who as well as winning Bake Off has scooped book deals and her own TV series, added: “First time we’ve ever been to a spa and it certainly won’t be our last. We did it all, wearily and all too aware that we looked different.
“But we did it ! We felt like everyone else, we laughed we joked and we relaxed.”
She added the hashtag, #wereallthesame.
Earlier this month, the mother of three, who is originally from Luton and is of Bangladeshi descent, said she had no desire to be a role model after winning Bake Off, but has learned that her presence helps pave the way for others like her.
She told The Guardian: “After Bake Off I just wanted to bake, I had no intention of being a role model or a representative.
“Why did it matter that I’m brown, a woman and Muslim?
“But now I understand – I need to be here, and it’s important for me to stay: to make space for people like me in this industry.”