Gemma Collins Declares Personal Redemption After I'm A Celeb Return
Reality television personality Gemma Collins has declared she has finally "redeemed" herself following her triumphant return to I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! The 45-year-old The Only Way Is Essex star participated in the ITV show's All Stars instalment, which was filmed in South Africa last year, and admits she "felt like Lara Croft" while tackling what she described as "terrifying" trials.
Overcoming a Decade of Regret
Collins confessed that for over a decade, she felt a "black cloud" hung over her head after her initial appearance on the show in Australia twelve years ago. During that first stint, she quit after just three days due to overwhelming fears, an onscreen meltdown that turned her into a meme and viral clip. Speaking at Monday's I'm A Celebrity All Stars launch event, she explained her determination to move on from the 2014 experience.
"Obviously, it didn't work out for me the first time around," Collins stated. "When I got asked to do it again, I thought I had spent my whole life with this black cloud hanging over my head. I am older now, I just thought, I have to do this before whatever happens to me in my life, I must go back into that jungle. It was one regret I had. This was a total redemption from me."
She elaborated on her personal growth, noting: "On a real one, I went in there as Gemma Collins and it's like the GC is the bravado and she'll have a laugh and whatever, but I was so stripped bare because I knew it was so disastrous the time before."
Facing Even Tougher Challenges
Despite knowing what to expect from the show, presented by Ant and Dec, Collins revealed the trials were even harder than during her first appearance. She nearly backed out before even boarding the plane, admitting that without her makeup artist's intervention, she might not have taken on the challenge.
"I got told I was going to a cocktail party so I had a full silk gown on and I turned the corner and you know what they're like, bless you, producers, they go to me 'Gem, it's all good, you're going in, you're going to have a few drinks with everyone, it's like a welcome meeting' but honestly it was nothing like that," Collins recounted. "It's so surreal. Nothing can prepare you for what comes next. It was so much tougher than before."
She described her anxiety: "I was absolutely bricking it, and I was petrified. My makeup artist had to slap me at Heathrow airport because I sat there and said 'I don't think I can go through with this.' I was petrified but I took a deep breath and went in strong."
Unexpected Struggles and Personal Triumphs
While Collins expected heights, bugs, trials, and camp conditions to be her biggest tests, she discovered that living without her beloved two dishwashers proved unexpectedly challenging. "The one thing that troubled me though was the copious amounts of washing up because I was on camp duty with Adam Thomas and it was a massive camp, I'm not going to lie, I have two dishwashers at home," she explained.
Reflecting on the experience, she added: "It was all part of camp life, it really grounds you again going in there. It brings you back to simplicity; it breaks you in ways you have never been broken before. I left some trials broken with every inch of my life, I can't describe the pain I felt."
From Quitting to Conquering
Collins returns to I'm A Celebrity fourteen years after her emotional departure, when she declared through tears: "I just can't do it, it ain't for me. I love myself too much to put myself through this. I'm really sorry if I've let anyone down or if I've caused any aggravation, but I have to look after number one. I can't do it, I have to go. I have to start living my life the way I want to live it, and this is not it."
Now, she asserts that returning to the series taught her she can overcome her fears, even alluding to performing well during the Bush Tucker trials. "It was a thousand million per cent the best decision I have ever made," Collins proclaimed. "To be honest, I think I shut it down. I shut it down. It's not the GC in there, it's Gemma Collins as you have never seen her before. You'll see me vulnerable and thinking I'm Lara Croft."
She continued: "For me, I can't tell you too much, but when I told you I shut it down, I shut it down. I had no chance to back out of any of it. It helped my self-esteem one million per cent, do you know what it just made me realise that when you think you can't, you absolutely can. I came out and thought I no longer have this dark cloud hanging over my head. No one can say anything about me because I've done it. I got my redemption."
All Stars Format and Public Vote
Collins joins the All Stars lineup alongside former winners Scarlett Moffatt and Harry Redknapp. At Monday's launch, presenters Ant and Dec revealed that for the first time in All Stars history, the public will vote for the winner of the show. Although the series has been prerecorded, viewers will now decide the ultimate winner and show "legend" during a live final broadcast from the UK.
Dec explained: "Last time round it was all on tape but this time round we are doing a live final here. Last time round the public didn't get a chance to have a say but this time they do. The very end of the series will be live – ultimately the public will decide who will be named the I'm A Celebrity legend. It's happening here in the UK live on the TV."
Ant added: "We'll bring the whole cast back and have the finalists live in the studio and it'll be a live vote like we do in Australia and the public will decide their legend."
Discussing the increased difficulty, Dec noted: "It is even harder. It's got to be because if you have won or been a part of the Australia show and you have done well and you want to be a legend in South Africa, you need to compete in the best trials. The trials are physically bigger, and they are tougher than we have seen before because we have to really test them. Myleene Klass won it last time by doing the best head-to-head trial the show has ever seen, so we thought we wanted to leave it up to the public but to be a finalist, we have made it tougher than ever."
