Tulisa Contostavlos has reflected on how she managed to catch viewers off guard during her I’m A Celebrity stint last year.
The 37-year-old joined Lorraine on ITV to chat about her new “novel form” autobiography, Judgement: Love, Trials and Tribulations, but talk quickly turned to her time in the jungle.
Lorraine Kelly noted that Tulisa’s calm, measured presence in the 2024 camp was a far cry from the “fiery” image she’d carried for years – and Tulisa couldn’t help but smile at how the experience shifted public perception.
I’m A Celebrity ‘let people see the real’ Tulisa
Lorraine began by telling today’s (November 26) guest: “It seems to me now that you’re actually in a really good place…”
“I am, I’m feeling very balanced. You can hear it in the energy,” smiled Tulisa. It was then mentioned how the N-Dubz star’s persona was probably the opposite of what I’m A Celebrity viewers anticipated.
“When you were in the celebrity jungle, I don’t know what people were expecting but I don’t think they were expecting this very serene, nurturing woman,” said Lorraine. “Yeah, yeah. Before the jungle, I used to have that very sort of crazy party girl, wild fiery reputation,” agreed Tulisa.
“But most of the time I’m pretty chilled out. If I was anymore chilled out I’d be asleep! So it was nice to let people see the real me, I’m just a bit of a mother hen.”
Tulisa endured night terrors in the jungle
Meanwhile, the star previously spoke to Paul C Brunson about her I’m A Celebrity experience on his We Need to Talk podcast.
Unbeknownst to viewers and her fellow campers, Tulisa endured night terrors for the first four nights.
“Some of the things you didn’t see – I was waking up out of my sleep, and I was having anxiety attacks,” she revealed. “Those parts, not everyone knows, so it wasn’t completely smooth sailing for me at all, but I have a great poker face. I really can turn it on, especially when I’m faced with adversity.
“The last thing I wanted to do was go in there and be the hot mess,” the hip-hop artist added. “So if anything, I’m going to be the biggest soldier there is.”
Why was Tulisa missing from the Coming Out show?
Tulisa also revealed why she skipped the traditional Coming Out reunion after the series wrapped.
As soon as filming ended, she hopped on the first flight home – and it turns out she was simply overwhelmed by the constant attention.
“When I came out, I began to cry when I had the first moment to myself,” she told Paul. “My team asked what was wrong and I said, ‘Please don’t put me back on camera. I need to be off now, it’s too much. I’m really proud of myself but I pushed myself too far, too soon. I need to go home.’”
She added that she felt “blessed” to be in a position where she could step back and look after herself when her head wasn’t in the right place.
Read more: I’m A Celebrity star Kelly Brook firmly defended amid ‘unfair’ backlash
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Lorraine both air on ITV1 and ITVX.
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