Narinder Kaur, who rose to fame on Big Brother in 2001, says she will never forgive bosses for one strict rule during her time in the famous house: contestants were not allowed makeup.
The Geordie TV personality, now 54, appeared in the second series of the hit reality contest. Speaking to the Mirror, she said: "Well for us, what they're allowed now - and I'll never forgive this one on a personal level - is we weren't even allowed makeup. Nothing! So we had to just look ugly for the whole time!"
'The Hardest Thing I've Had to Do'
She went on: "We all just had to look like, I don't know, just like we were going on a camping site for like weeks with nothing but, you know, four items. I'll never forget that one, I never will...I look at them now and I'm thinking, I don't care, I can't watch it, they're allowed makeup."
It wasn't only makeup that she found tough. "Being in that house, and I say it to this day, it was the hardest thing I've had to do. Because you are cut away from everything you know and love."
She also revealed the public pile on was intense after leaving the house, including hurtful lists based on housemates' appearance. "I was never bothered about my appearance," she said. "But then when you start constantly being told you're not good looking, or you're not the hottest, and you're not this, then you start, you know, making a conscious effort and thinking 'Okay, I need to start grooming myself better, looking better, taking care of my skin.'"
Denies Surgery Claims
It's something she now takes very seriously and is often complimented on. "People ask 'How do I look better now than I did then?' But I think it's because I looked so terrible then, because we weren't allowed makeup, that's what I keep trying to tell them."
"I also get loads of people saying, 'You've had surgery.' I've never had surgery... There's been no surgery, not one bit of surgery I've ever had."
Instead, she focuses on a great regime of gym and specially focused treatments. "I've been going for several years now to Dr Sabika Karim. There has been a face transformation."
Focus on Skin Health
"The things she's done, what she's more about is skin well-being and health as opposed to looking done-done. The way she's done it for me is more natural, and she works with your skin as opposed to just stuffing and stuffing in your skin and injecting it."
Dr Sabika, an award-winning aesthetic doctor, GP, global educator and founder of Skin Medical, said: "When I first saw Narinder for treatment she wanted bigger lips and fillers, and I explained that aesthetic treatments should be more about ageing well, rather than looking different."
"So, alongside a little bit of filler and some anti-wrinkle injections, we focussed on skin treatments for healthy and functional skin. These included Radiofrequency Microneedling with secret RF, to stimulate collagen in order to support the skin’s natural regeneration process, as well as laser treatments to reduce pigmentation and reduce inflammation."
Other treatments have included Julaine, a new collagen biostimulator. Dr Sabika said: "It stimulates the body’s natural collagen production harnessing a technology that creates controlled inflammation. There’s an initial inflammation, then a slow release of lactic acid from the microsperes of PLLA."
"It works by triggering the body to produce its own collagen and elastin, and also regenerating the extracellular matrix (the fluid the skin cells live in), thereby making the skin healthier and able to function better."
"This leads to gradual improvement in skin quality over time and is effective for addressing skin laxity, fine lines and improving overall skin texture and hydration, because when skin is functioning well, it looks better too."
She added: "The key to Narinder looking so good is the fact that we have consistently worked to address its health, and when skin is healthy it looks good."
