GREAT British Bake-Off star Nadiya Hussain is the headline attraction on day three of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

Last year’s Bake-Off winner is hosting a special brunch event this morning, before performing a cookery demonstration in the main marquee at Noon.

She will then also host the Slattery Afternoon Tea Picnic at 2.30pm in the same venue, and will be reading stories from her new book.

Viewers of the hit BBC show fell in love with Nadiya during her victorious run last year and she has gone on to do more television work and has appeared at events across the country.

But this is her first trip to Bolton and she is looking forward to the day, where she is the star attraction.

She said: “It is weird to be considered a headline act when you see the names of the other chefs who are on at the festival.

“It is really odd, I still can’t quite believe it — sometimes when people turn up I am like, ‘why are you here?’ “When I did the show, my husband said just be yourself, that is the easiest thing to do — if you try and be someone else it would be more difficult.

“I am an amateur at the end of the day, so to be able to go on there and bake under pressure, it means it is achievable for anyone and I am like the most nervous human being in the world.

“So the fact that I could go on there and come out the other end — although I did not expect to win — so if someone can look at that and say she is completely normal, then they can think they could have a go.”

Someone who had a less successful stint on bake-off was Bolton pastor Lee Banfield, who exited this year’s show in the first week — after a failed effort at a Jaffa Cake dish.

Nadiya sympathised with the Bolton baker, she said: “I did watch it, week one is a really tough one when there is 12 contestants — sometimes it can be a case of doing one thing wrong and he just had quite a bad week, which is a shame.

“Also you don’t concentrate on a Jaffa Cake do you — you don’t look at the markings of a Jaffa Cake, you just eat them — by the dozen in my case.”

Ahead of today’s demos, she added: “I am so used to being at the other end of a demo but now I am cooking and baking at festivals and I really like it, it is a lot of fun.

“I love being in the north, it is a home away from home for me, I moved out about 10 months ago but every time I come up north it feels like I’m heading home.”