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Great British Bake Off champ Nadiya Hussain has revealed she is receiving protection from police over alleged anti-Islamic abuse levelled at her online.

The star, whose victory in the final was watched by 13.4million people, said she had been targeted over her Muslim faith and wearing a headscarf.

The star told of her abuse on ITV’s Loose Women.

She explained: "There was quite a lot of negativity on Twitter. I tried really hard not to look at it. My husband is one of those who has to read everything, so he sat there and read everything.

"You can do two things, and the old me would have very much regretted everything, and there were times when I thought, ‘What have I done? Am I putting my kids in danger?’

“He was always the one to say ‘You know what? It’s okay. They're such a minority and it doesn’t matter’.

"And if anything, I proved to myself I can have the confidence not to care what people think. For me, that’s what came out of it all."

The mum-of-three, who has since moved to Milton Keynes and is writing a cookbook, revealed things got so bad that police had to provide protection outside her Leeds home.

She said: “We had to have people come in and check that we were okay.

“For me, some of the tweets I looked at and thought, 'Well that’s nothing, it’ll be fine', but everyone wanted to make sure that we were safe."

The Great British Bake Off 2015 - meet the contestants 14 show all The Great British Bake Off 2015 - meet the contestants 1/14 The Contestants, 2015 Meet the gang: the 2015 line-up Mark Bourdillon/BBC 2/14 Flora Age: 19

Look our for: Arty flourishes. She works at a contemporary art gallery, and is waiting to study a history of art degree Mark Bourdillon/BBC 3/14 Stu Age: 35

Look out for: His attempts to trial unconventional flavours, like Middle Eastern spices Mark Bourdillon/BBC 4/14 Ugne Age: 32

Look out for: Theatrical flavours and appearance. She incorporates Lithuanian flavours into her food, and is ambitious with presentation Mark Bourdillon/BBC 5/14 Tamal Age: 32

Look out for: Towering cakes. He baked his sister’s wedding cake, and has since been asked to do many more, with up to five tiers Mark Bourdillon/BBC 6/14 Ian Age: 41

Look out for: Home-grown goodness. He likes to include “an unusual discovery from his garden” in his bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC 7/14 Dorret Age: 53

Look out for: Michelin-star quality. Her dream is to attend the legendary Cordon Bleu school in Paris Mark Bourdillon/BBC 8/14 Nadiya Age: 30

Look out for: Big statement bakes. She conjures up “beautiful masterpieces” at family dinners Mark Bourdillon/BBC 9/14 Alvin Age: 37

Look out for: Highly-detailed bakes. He’s a perfectionist, and once baked a loaf of bread a day for three weeks until he’d got it right Mark Bourdillon/BBC 10/14 Paul Age: 49

Look out for: Bakes that bust gender norms. He’s a prison guard out to prove that “men like me, stereotyped by our jobs, can love baking” Mark Bourdillon/BBC 11/14 Sandy Age: 49

Look out for: Hearty bakes. She claims that her baking “might not be glamorous, but it's tasty” Mark Bourdillon/BBC 12/14 Marie Age: 66

Look out for: Parisian perfection. She fell in love with baking in her 30s when she moved to the French capital Mark Bourdillon/BBC 13/14 Mat Age: 37

Look out for: Sweet treats. He prefers cakes and biscuits to savoury bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC 14/14 Bake Off Contestants 2015 Mark Bourdillon/BBC 1/14 The Contestants, 2015 Meet the gang: the 2015 line-up Mark Bourdillon/BBC 2/14 Flora Age: 19

Look our for: Arty flourishes. She works at a contemporary art gallery, and is waiting to study a history of art degree Mark Bourdillon/BBC 3/14 Stu Age: 35

Look out for: His attempts to trial unconventional flavours, like Middle Eastern spices Mark Bourdillon/BBC 4/14 Ugne Age: 32

Look out for: Theatrical flavours and appearance. She incorporates Lithuanian flavours into her food, and is ambitious with presentation Mark Bourdillon/BBC 5/14 Tamal Age: 32

Look out for: Towering cakes. He baked his sister’s wedding cake, and has since been asked to do many more, with up to five tiers Mark Bourdillon/BBC 6/14 Ian Age: 41

Look out for: Home-grown goodness. He likes to include “an unusual discovery from his garden” in his bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC 7/14 Dorret Age: 53

Look out for: Michelin-star quality. Her dream is to attend the legendary Cordon Bleu school in Paris Mark Bourdillon/BBC 8/14 Nadiya Age: 30

Look out for: Big statement bakes. She conjures up “beautiful masterpieces” at family dinners Mark Bourdillon/BBC 9/14 Alvin Age: 37

Look out for: Highly-detailed bakes. He’s a perfectionist, and once baked a loaf of bread a day for three weeks until he’d got it right Mark Bourdillon/BBC 10/14 Paul Age: 49

Look out for: Bakes that bust gender norms. He’s a prison guard out to prove that “men like me, stereotyped by our jobs, can love baking” Mark Bourdillon/BBC 11/14 Sandy Age: 49

Look out for: Hearty bakes. She claims that her baking “might not be glamorous, but it's tasty” Mark Bourdillon/BBC 12/14 Marie Age: 66

Look out for: Parisian perfection. She fell in love with baking in her 30s when she moved to the French capital Mark Bourdillon/BBC 13/14 Mat Age: 37

Look out for: Sweet treats. He prefers cakes and biscuits to savoury bakes Mark Bourdillon/BBC 14/14 Bake Off Contestants 2015 Mark Bourdillon/BBC

But she admitted that her children actually enjoyed the attention, telling host Vicky Pattison: “My kids loved it. They were like, ‘Oh, policemen.’"