N-Dubz star Tulisa stepped back into the public eye in 2024 on I’m A Celebrity – and in her new book Judgement: Love, Trials, and Tribulations, she has revealed she learnt an important lesson from her brief time on the show
After years away from the spotlight, Tulisa Contostavlos returned in a major way in 2024 when she appeared in the 24th series of I’m A Celebrity.
The N-Dubz star joined the likes of Danny Jones, Rev Richard Coles and Coleen Rooney in the jungle reality show. But her time was short-lived, and she was the third contestant to be booted out.
Following her elimination, Tulisa surprised many by quickly leaving Australia and not participating in the final reunion show. She also deleted all mentions of the show from her social media, later explaining that she felt “overwhelmed” by the attention.
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“A lot of bombarding, in all the most positive way but because it’s been a bit of a while for me, I can get overwhelmed quite easily,” the Sight of You singer said in an Instagram video. “I just need to take a bit of time for me and just chill and this is all just feeling a little bit much at the moment.”
While her time on the show was brief, it helped provide clarity for Tulisa, who has touched upon the experience in her new book, Judgement: Love, Trials, and Tribulations.
Writing in the epilogue, the star shares: “I can see clearer now, I have a strong sense of inner peace and an internal happiness that comes from within. It wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of myself. I’ve managed to successfully return with N-Dubz and had a fun little stint on I’m a Celebrity… though it has confirmed my feelings of wanting to remain a little less in the spotlight.
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“I can’t say I enjoyed eating lamb bollocks and being pi**ed on with rain during the rainiest season ever, but I am grateful for the experience because it’s only by getting uncomfortable that we can grow.
“Mostly I was very grateful for the opportunity to show people my true self after so many years of such giant misconception of who I truly was, and I’ve certainly felt a change for the better in people’s energy towards me since. All is finally well, but there were certainly moments along the way to get to this point where my hope was short.”
Tulisa made her name in the 2000s as part of N-Dubz before launching her solo career and later appearing as a judge on X-Factor in 2011. She largely stepped back from the public eye when, in 2014, charges were brought against her after an undercover reporter from The Sun – ‘Fake Sheikh’ Mazher Mahmood – claimed she’d brokered a deal to supply Class A drugs.
The drugs trial collapsed after the reporter was found to have lied in his evidence, and Mahmood received a 15-month prison sentence.
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Previously, Mahmood had been employed by the Sunday Times and the now-defunct News of the World. He gained notoriety for exposing wrongdoings but faced criticism for orchestrating stings while masquerading as an Arab businessman to secure stories.
One of his high-profile targets was model Jodie Kidd, who discussed her ordeal in the 2023 Prime Video documentary series “The Fake Sheikh,” where she lamented that befriending him was “the biggest mistake of my life,” after being labelled a “coke fixer” in the press following their encounter.
Post-conviction in 2016 and subsequent imprisonment, Mahmood vanished from the limelight and is presumed to have ceased working as a journalist. Nonetheless, in a 2023 interview with The Guardian, Paul Samrai, an associate of Mahmood’s, hinted at rumours that Mahmood might still be active in journalism, albeit under a pseudonym.
