ITV’s I’m a Celebrity...Get me out of here! is finally back on our TV screens with an exciting line-up of celebs ready to take on the jungle.
Among this year’s stars is the former N-Dubz artist and X-Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, who had largely taken a step back from the limelight in recent years.
The reality show premieres today (November 17) at 9pm on ITV with a 105-minute special opening episode and the season will continue all the way through to December 8.
Reflecting on her upcoming jungle stint, Contostavlos maintained that her comeback isn’t a “career goal”.
“My number one mission is to be my true, authentic self,” she said ahead of the time. “If me being my authentic self connects with people in a mass way, then it must mean I’m doing something right in life.
“But I am not going to go looking for it. This isn’t a career move for me either. I will always go back to N-Dubz and this is a one-off experience.”
Contostavlos shot to fame alongside her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer in the 2000s, with N-Dubz landing four top 10 singles and several MOBO awards.
She went on to join the X-Factor judging panel in 2011, becoming the show’s youngest judge at just 23 years old. She also mentored Little Mix on their ascent to fame through the show and enjoyed a solo career of her own, with varying success.
However, subsequent controversies surrounding a sex tape scandal and arrest over drug allegations led to her taking a step back from the showbiz world. So, what has she been up to since?
Public and TV appearances
Although Contostavlos has kept a relatively low profile recently, she has been spotted at a few big events and launch parties, suggesting she didn’t cut ties with the entertainment world entirely.
The singer initially wanted to show people who she really was, so she worked on several documentaries, including Tulisa: The Price of Fame, a film that follows her ordeal after being set up in a drug sting.
She has also made several TV appearances and even some guest appearances on X-Factor in subsequent seasons.
In 2020, she appeared on Loose Women, where she opened up about suffering from Bell's Palsy and having to deal with an onslaught of online trolls.
Drink-driving charge
Contostavlos also made headlines when she was caught up in a drink-driving crash that destroyed her £150,000 Ferrari.
In 2016, she was banned from driving for 15 months and charged £1,000 after she crashed her car outside Southgate Station while being one-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit.
Music comeback
Since leaving X-Factor, Contostavlos has continued to release music sporadically, though not all of her tracks have been successful.
In 2015, her single Living Without You was considered a flop, charting at only number 44.
She also released a remake of Sweet Like Chocolate in 2016 and Daddy in 2019 but they didn’t really make waves in the charts.
It wouldn’t be until 2022 that Contostavlos agreed to reunite with N-Dubz.
Will.i.am lawsuit
One of the biggest moments in Contostavlos’s career following X-Factor may have been her high-profile lawsuit against Will.i.am and Britney Spears.
The lawsuit dragged out for five years, with Contostavlos arguing that she co-wrote the song Scream and Shout before producers took it in a different direction.
Even though Contostavlos’s vocals were still featured on the track, she wasn’t credited with writing the song at the time and was unable to gain any royalties from the pop hit.
Will.i.am later admitted: “Tulisa wrote to that song before I did – this is the truth. But the producers of the beat … didn’t want her to have it.”
Contostavlos eventually won the lawsuit in 2018, and was added as a writer on the track and granted 10 per cent publishing rights.
N-Dubz reunion
In 2022, Contostavlos and her former bandmates confirmed they were reuniting 10 years after going on hiatus. Their UK tour, Back To The Future, sold out, making it one of the biggest music comebacks of that year.
The following year, the singer said: “As it stands, we are back. Rather than a reunion, it’s definitely a comeback, so it’s all N-Dubz, N-Dubz, N-Dubz for now.”
However, plans to release new music may have been put on hold as Contostavlos heads to the jungle.
Ventures into property development
Contostavlos also recently revealed that she’s planning a career change in the next few years. Speaking to Fearne Cotton on her podcast, the musician suggested she was ready to put music behind her.
"The music industry is wild, it is ridiculous. I'm through most of it. I'll be out in two years,” she said.
Instead, she’s now looking for land to build her own themed properties.
She continued: "I'm going into property. I am actually going to build some themed rentals. So I'm like, a super fantasy geek, all things like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones.
"And I've always wanted to get into the property game. But I was also like, there's some parts of it that can be a little bit mundane.
"So instead of just like building houses, let's build themed places that I can rent out.
She continued: "So yeah, at the minute, I'm looking for land, I want it to all be very kind of like a nature reserve, you know, cabins in a forest, Hobbit houses. So, yeah, that's my plan for 2024. I'm absolutely buzzing."
