ITV chef Parveen Ashraf, known as the Spice Queen, has revealed her heartache after her husband Qamar was killed "during a robbery" six months ago. The mum-of-three, whose show Parveen’s Indian Kitchen was hugely popular with viewers, broke her social media silence to share the update. The star had not posted on any of her accounts this year after going quiet following the tragedy, which happened when he was living in Ghana. Parveen said he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Taking to Instagramshe shared a video with her 27,700 followers. "Hi everyone, it is Parveen the Spice Queen – but I am not even sure if I am still her," she opened. "I just wanted to come on here as I've been away for a while but I wanted to come and say that I think I am ready to come back to work. But I am not even sure what [work] means yet."

Looking tearful, she continued: "I had a personal tragedy and I lost my husband about six months ago. Those that have lost somebody, you will know how painful this is.”

"I feel he wouldn’t want me to wallow in self-pity so I am going to try and get back to work and posting videos and recipes," she pondered before blowing a kiss to the camera.

She captioned the post: "The pain of losing someone you love is all consuming and it’s easy to just let the grief take over, however for the sake of my own sanity, I am hoping to get back to work soon.

"I wanted to share a photo my husband and I that was taken on the river Thames over 20 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. Rest in peace my darling man."

The couple had been together for 38 years and in a separate post she thanked people for their support as she reflected on their long relationship.

She shared a slideshow of images of them together throughout the decades put to the song Follow you, Follow Me By Genesis.

"I chose this song as I always told him that wherever he was, I would follow him - and I did," she penned. "I left my parents home and followed him to London. He got a contract in Leeds, so I and my 2 toddlers followed him.

"He got a job in Peterborough, so I moved there with my 2 children and one on the way. He went to Ghana and I left the UK and my 2 eldest children and follows him. He is now in a different realm and I will follow him there too," she wrote signing off: "Rest in peace my darling handsome, stubborn, whitty (sic) intelligent husband."