I'm A Celebrity fans in disbelief over Tulisa's famous dad who had a chart-topping hit

2 hours ago 3

Tulisa Contostavlos shot to fame in hip hop band N-Dubz, but a musical career was always on the cards thanks to her parents

Tulisa

Is Tulisa a 'nepo baby?' Her musical heritage has sparked a debate amongst fans

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! viewers have only just realised that Tulisa Contostavlos has a famous dad.

The singer shot to fame when her band N-Dubz - which she formed when she was just 11 - burst onto the scene in 2006 with their debut single You Better Not Waste My Time. But she's got musical roots, as her father Steve Contostavlos was also a big star in the Seventies.

Better known by his alias Plato, Tulisa's dad was one of the main members of the Mungo Jerry blues band, who had a huge Number 1 hit with the song In The Summertime, which was released in 1970.

Plato played keyboard, while his brother Byron - who was Tulisa's uncle and father of her cousin and fellow N-Dubz star Dappy - played bass guitar in the group. The band, headed up by Ray Dorset, were reportedly part of the early line-up.

Sadly Byron passed away in 2007 just as N-Dubz were starting out, but Plato is thought to be around 65 years old now. And fans can't get over the fact that Tulisa is a so-called 'nepo baby'.

Tulisa's dad Plato Contostavlos in the studio (

Image:

X)

One fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "I did not know that Tulisa Contostavlos’ dad was the keyboard player in Mungo Jerry." Another asked the internet: "Did you know that Tulisa and Dappy's uncle was in Mungo Jerry of 'In The Summertime' fame?" A social media user replied: "I did not! Turns out there are many N Dubz fun facts I didn't know."

A third wrote: "How have I only just realised that Mungo Jerry is Tulisa (N-Dubz) Dad?!?!" A fourth chimed in: "I had no idea her father was part of such a legendary band." Refuting the fact N-Dubz had a helping hand with fame, a fifth fan pointed out: "They weren't even main members of Mungo Jerry—this was all about N-Dubz's talent."

Another commented: "I think they technically aren't nepo kids because N-Dubz first gained traction on pirate radio. But also Dappy's dad was their manager and their first album was named after him.. but yeah they weren't even the main guys in Mungo Jerry which no one cares about anyway."

Plato and his brother Byron were in 70s band Mungo Jerry (

Image:

Redferns)

And it isn't just Tulisa's father who is musical. Her Irish mother Anne Byrne used to sing in a swing band called Jeep in the Eighties. They would perform wartime songs like 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' by the Andrews Sisters - in stark contrast to Tulisa's hip hop group she would later form.

But 'nepo baby' or not, it seems there was only ever going to be one career for Tulisa - and that was singing. She opened up on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast before she went in the jungle.

Fearne said: "You grew up in a really musical household. Your mum was a singer, your dad was in Mungo Jerry and you had that sense that music was something that was important."

Tulisa replied: "My dad had a little studio in Dollis Hill and he used to bring me there sometimes when he was working. He put me on the mic at the age of five. I was singing Little Mermaid. I just knew there was nothing else I felt passionate about."

*I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight from 9pm on ITV1

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