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Gary Barlow and Tulisa were judges on The X Factor. (Image: ITV)
Tulisa Contostavlos has never forgiven Gary Barlow once insulting her in front of millions of people. The N-Dubz singer is now vying for Queen Of The Jungle against 11 other famous faces in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
But long before her current reality stint, the N-Dubz singer, 36, famously starred in another ITV reality staple, the now defunct X Factor alongside Take That star Gary Barlow, Destiny's Child icon Kelly Rowland, and former music manager Louis Walsh.
Tulisa, who first shot to stardom with N-Dubz in the mid-2000s and recently revealed we've all been pronouncing her name wrong all this time, embarked on a solo music career and served as an X Factor judge between 2011 and 2012.
Her X Factor stint caused much controversy, particularly when Tulisa, then aged 24, faced a venomous retort after critiquing contestant Christopher Maloney's song choice.
When pressing Gary Barlow for answers over his song choices for Maloney, Tulisa posed the question: "How many of these 1980s classics are you going to let him destroy?" To which the comeback reportedly stung: "I don't know what offends me more, those comments or that fag ash breath."
Tulisa and Gary on The X Factor in 2013. (Image: ITV)
Tulisa was left in surprise by Gary's off-the-cuff remark and retorted by suggesting he'd had a bit too much to drink, quipping: "Just a note for Gary: lay off the red wine, coz' I can really smell that as well."
A source told Metro at the time: "Gary came to Tulisa's dressing room after the show and sat for ages apologising to her. He knows he was out of line and hugely regretted saying that to her. Gary feels really, really bad about what he said. He was speaking without thinking... in the spur of moment and he didn't mean it."
Following the event, Tulisa displayed her sense of humour about the situation by sporting a nicotine patch and playfully showing it off to the viewers at home on camera, but after Tulisa was trolled by fans and even nicknamed "fag ash", the pair never fully mended their relationship and have not stayed in contact since.
Over a decade later and Tulisa is now focused on her current challenge, but has admitted that being back in the spotlight and facing possible scrutiny again, has caused her concern.
Tulisa is battling it out in the jungle (Image: ITV)
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Despite once ruling out ever appearing on I'm A Celeb, she confessed in a recent chat on Olivia Attwood's podcast: "I actually was at a point where I was like, 'I would never, ever do this.' But we're all forever evolving and growing and I just got to a point in my life where I was just in my f*** it era. So do it!"
"My biggest fear about going on the show is being thrust so far back into the spotlight again. That's the biggest fear that I'm going to overcome. But then at the same time, I've done this all my life."
"Like, why am I letting bad experiences in the past make me feel terrified to be on television or do an interview or get photographed by paparazzi?" she mused. "And that's kind of the place that I've been in for the past few years.
"I noticed it on the N-Dubz tour. I could get on stage for N-Dubz, but anything else involving promo interviews, press, or being photographed by paps, I literally felt nauseous."
"I am famous and I need to get a grip. I'm fully aware of that. I know the industry I stepped into, so I just need to throw myself balls deep. I'm hoping that when I come out the other side of the jungle, hopefully this fear will be eradicated because I couldn't be in a more public, vulnerable, exposed situation."
English (US) ·