Konnie Huq, the former Blue Peter presenter, has admitted that her father hoped she would marry a Muslim rather than fellow broadcaster Charlie Brooker.
Huq is the only one of her three sisters not to have had an arranged marriage, and said that it took her family time to accept her choice of husband.
She said: "Because my parents are Muslim, there's no doubt they wished I would marry someone Muslim.
"My parents really wanted me to have an arranged marriage when I was younger, but I think they have updated a bit with the times.
"I know they were worried that I was getting on a bit – I was 35 and unmarried – and were wondering if I would ever get married.
"If I were a boy, my career would have been more important to them, as I'd need to support my wife and children.
"The one thing more important to my parents than my career is that I am happily married."
In a revealing father-daughter interview, her father Muhammad, added that he "couldn't care less" about his daughter's career – and it is more important to him that she is a wife and mother.
Muhammad, 74, who is suffering from prostate cancer, said: "It is most important to me that my daughters marry.
"As for their careers, I couldn't care less. I see family as the be-all and end-all. It is the root of everything.
"It doesn't bother me that millions watch Konnie on TV.
"In the old days, we watched her all the time, but then we stopped. We don't care anymore. Nowadays, we only sometimes watch."
Huq announced her engagement to Brooker, the host and writer of BBC's Screenwipe, in June.
