North London Pakistani teacher who ‘accidentally’ became a star on a BAFTA-winning show

A teacher turned presenter from North London has opened up about her journey going into the TV industry, and how a random blog post catapulted her to being a part of a BAFTA award-winning show. This ultimately gave her enough money to achieve her dream of taking her parents on Hajj (religious pilgrimage).

Mehreen Baig says she never thought she would end up going through such a career change, especially as a Muslim Pakistani working-class teacher. The 32-year-old was born in Hackney and moved to Tottenham, before ultimately settling down in North Finchley. She says her parents made sure her and her siblings were in touch with their Pakistani culture, whether it was watching Bollywood, listening to Pakistani songs or learning Urdu before English.

Mehreen’s parents arrived in London over 40 years ago to seek the best opportunities for their kids. Her dad, who was born in Karachi and grew up between Pakistan and Hyderabad, India, married her mum who was born in Lahore. After they got married and graduated from universities in Pakistan, they moved to the UK. But their degrees ‘counted for nothing’, says Mehreen, so they had to start from scratch to build their life.

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Mehreen is still passionate about teaching and has written a book about her experience

Speaking to MyLondon, Mehreen said: “They made a real effort to make sure we were aware of our culture and heritage. They really tried to keep that balance of both worlds. They would sit with me to do my homework. I had a strict upbringing in lots of ways, I wasn’t allowed boyfriends or allowed to go out partying but there was a lot of emphasis on making sure us kids had a good solid education.”

Growing up, Mehreen had intended to follow a career in medicine, but she says just before she got to university, she went through a rebellious phase and ended up going into clearing. “I missed my medicine offer so decided to study English at university instead. Both my siblings are teachers – I have a sister who’s eight years older and a brother who’s twelve years older – so after graduating, I followed in their footsteps. I had already volunteered in tuition centres and loved it – I really like the spirit that young people have, their energy, honesty and the fact they’re unfiltered.”

“I was 21 when I became a teacher and my career definitely moulded what I’m like as a person today. At 21, you’re still figuring out who you are, and in those years in the classroom, I learnt to be patient, and to see human beings in a 360 way. If people behave in a bad way – if they’re being rude or negative – it usually stems from something like a personal insecurity. I learnt that on the job.”

Being so passionate about teaching, Mehreen says she didn’t have even a spare minute to consider a career move. She loved her job, but her life changed after she wrote a blogpost and posted it online.

“I just wanted my friends to read it, so when the BBC left a comment and asked me to work with them, I still didn’t ever think I would leave teaching completely. But then we won at the BAFTAs, and I was teaching a Year 11 masterclass the next morning with agents and commissioners calling me. It was crazy!

“I did say no to the BBC for three months. They pitched the idea of Muslims Like Us and it sounded ‘Big Brother-y’ so I said no, but they were really persistent – which I’m so grateful for now. They came to my house to discuss what I was anxious about, and I said Muslims are never represented properly in the media. I remember my dad saying, ‘I didn’t raise you to be weak and I didn’t raise you to be stupid,’ and I agreed that evening, and the rest is history!”

The TV industry has come with its struggles, especially as a Pakistani Muslim woman, says Mehreen. Initially the presenter was offered shows that were linked to her identity as a Muslim woman. “In the first year, the amount I spoke about being Pakistani and a Muslim, I’ve never spoken about that as much in my life,” she said.

She says it's tough being a woman of colour in the TV industry

She says it’s tough being a woman of colour in the TV industry

However, with time she began to realise she needed to branch out and stand her ground to work on more generic topics. She said: “TV is a very fickle industry and can be difficult to navigate if you’re a woman of colour. I don’t want to sound ungrateful as I’m very grateful for the opportunities, I’ve travelled loads and made enough money to take my parents to Hajj (pilgrimage) – I was literally a Muslim Pakistani working class teacher from a corner of North London and someone took a shot at me and it doesn’t happen to everyone – but it can be tough when you’re constantly being put into boxes.”

“To tackle it, we need more people of colour behind the scenes so that they recognise that audiences are changing and diverse presenters are not there just to tick a box for channels,” she added. “We need more Muslims and Asian women in positions of power. I get how important representation is – I see that even now with students when they can’t believe I’ve been on TV or worked with Laura Whitmore. It’s really important for young people in particular, because you can’t be what you can’t see.”

Despite having a number of TV and radio projects under her belt, including a podcast with the BBC – Mehreen’s heart is still with teaching and the education sector. During lockdown she decided to jump on another opportunity and write a book to fulfil a dream she’s had since she was just two-years-old.

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“That ability to hustle comes naturally when you’re not born into a rich family. You grab onto opportunities. You have that drive and that work ethic. I’m not saying I had a hard time growing up – but we definitely weren’t rich and we’ve struggled. I’ve seen my parents struggle – so it’s inevitable that I’ve dedicated my adult life to creating a better life for myself and repaying my parents for all their sacrifices.

“I always thought I would write fiction! But during Covid lockdown, my brother, who is a teacher, was extremely vulnerable. Whilst teachers were thrust into the headlines and everyone had an opinion on whether teachers should go back to school, my family was in perpetual fear for the whole of 2020 – we knew how dangerous my brother going into school could be. Hearing people’s views, I felt there was so much judgement that came from such a little place of understanding. People have no idea what teaching entails, how brilliant and stressful it can be. So I wrote a book to show the human side of teaching and the human stories of young people growing up in Britain today. People have no idea how thousands of children from disadvantaged backgrounds are living just streets away from them. I wanted to write about my experiences in a way people would engage with. I wrote the book in 12 weeks!” Mehreen said.

Mehreen’s book ‘Hidden Lessons’ is out in paperback edition in July, you can preorder here.

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https://www.mylondon.news/news/north-london-news/north-london-pakistani-teacher-who-24284669

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