I'm A Celeb's Tulisa suffered 'black eyes and busted lips' in fights with N-Dubz co-stars

Tulisa Contostavlos, who was the third celebrity to be voted out of the I'm A Celebrity jungle, has opened up about fighting with her N-Dubz bandmates when she was younger

Tulisa Contostavlos has spilled the beans on her past scuffles with N-Dubz bandmates as a means to "toughen" up, revealing in her 2012 autobiography 'Honest: My Story So Far' how she learned to "fight like a man".

Despite being the third celeb to wave goodbye to the I'm A Celeb jungle this year, Tulisa chose to jet back to Manchester rather than stick around for the grand finale on December 8, reports the Daily Record.

She might still grace our screens on tonight's Coming Out show on ITV 1. The N-Dubz sensation delved into a time when fights were part of her life, leading to tricky situations where she couldn't confess to her dad that "someone had beaten the s**t out of me". Instead, she followed the "rules of the street" which meant she stayed silent to avoid being branded a "snitch".

It sparked fury among her bandmates Dappy and Richard 'Fazer' Rawson, especially when she turned up at the studio looking like she'd gone ten rounds in a "boxing match". To help her out, Dappy would stand up to girls targeting her, while Richard roped in his tough older female cousin for support.

The duo even took it upon themselves to give Tulisa some real fighting training, engaging in full-on sparring matches without holding back.

"Dappy and I would have full-on fights, punching the s**t out of one another, just to make me stronger. I came away with black eyes and busted lips courtesy of Dappy and Richard, but at the same time, they taught me to fight like a man, which is what I needed."

She also mentioned that she would spar with Dappy's friends, often ending up "on the floor" but ensured she gave as "good as I got" when it was a "fair match". The 'I Need You' singer confessed that she didn't turn to her parents for help because she didn't want to appear "weak", while she believed she needed to be "tough to survive".

Fans noticed Tulisa's absence from the I'm A Celeb finale, with comments such as: "Tulisa is nowhere to be seen," and "OMG! You'd miss Tulisa being beside Oti all the time. I really wonder what happened."

Despite this, Tulisa shared some favourite moments from the show on Instagram, apologising to her campmates for not being there for the final.

She said: "Looking back at some of my favourite moments from the @Imacelebrity jungle. It's been a whirlwind.

"Thank you to @itv for the experience and sending so much love to my Jungle Fam before the final tonight. Sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you all."