Gemma Collins is returning for the new season of I’m A Celebrity: All Stars despite having quit the show after just three days when she appeared in 2014.
The TOWIE star is a beloved and iconic UK media personality, but for many fans of reality TV she is arguably best known for her 72-hour stint in the jungle over a decade ago.
Struggling with the conditions Collins quit after the minimum amount of time celebrities have to spend in the jungle to get their money, 72 hours.
Following an avalanche of jokes at her expense the UK TV star has bravely spoken since about how she had suffered panic attacks on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! leading to her decision to leave, adding that she had considered ‘killing herself’ after the controversy.
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Now though she has made the decision to return and has explained why.
Gemma Collins says leaving the jungle was the ‘one regret’ she had
Speaking at a launch event for the show, Collins said: “I thought whatever happens to me in my life, I must go back into that jungle, it was one regret I had.
“I was bricking it, I was petrified, but you know what? I took a deep breath, I went in strong, and to be honest, I think I shut it down.
“It’s not the GC in there, it’s Gemma Collins, as you’ve never seen her before.
“You’ll see me vulnerable in there, you’ll see me thinking I’m Lara Croft, but I am delighted with who I got to do it with because we did have a good crack.”
The Towie star quit in part due to a little-known horrific experience
Collins’ exit from the ITV show is predominantly presented as a comedic moment, but the reality of her experience is absolutely horrific.
The TV star was reportedly ‘really badly’ beaten by her at-the-time-partner Alexander Moss the night before she travelled out to the jungle.
Moss denied the allegations at the time, with Collins saying in a podcast appearance in 2024 that she regrets not pursuing charges against him.
The convicted drug dealer was later jailed for Grievous Bodily Harm in 2019 after breaking his new partner’s arm during a row in which he threatened to kill her.
Despite ITV encouraging her to drop out Collins decided to go on I’m A Celebrity the day after he beat her, adding in 2024: “No one was even honest about what happened to me, so I had to walk around with this shame that I’d something wrong.”
Now, Collins has made a brave return to the jungle which will air next month, April 2026.
Continuing on her return to the jungle, the Towie star said: "Diamonds are literally made from pressure. And unless you put yourself under that pressure, you don't know what you can become.
"So, for me, being put under such pressure, such strain, such smells, such circumstances, such trials, I came out a diamond."
Topics: Gemma Collins, Im A Celebrity, TOWIE, Mental Health, Domestic Abuse, TV and Film
Michael Slavin