ITV I’m A Celebrity’s Tulisa opens up on drug scandal in ‘year from hell’

I’m A Celebrity star Tulisa Contostavlos has spoken about the “ups and downs” she faced during a “year from hell”. The N-Dubz singer is one of the celebrities to enter camp in this year’s series of the popular ITV show.

The 36-year-old released four UK top 10 singles with bandmates Dappy, her cousin, and his friend Fazer. They split up in 2011 and Tulisa went on to be a judge on the X Factor.

She replaced Cheryl Cole during the eighth series, becoming the youngest ever judge on the panel. During her time on the show she mentored Little Mix, which went on to become the show’s most successful girl group.

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Tulisa released a solo album in 2012 but kept mainly out of the spotlight. However, she reunited with N-Dubz bandmates Dappy and Fazer back in 2022 following an 11-year hiatus and released their most recent album, Timeless, last year, the Mirror reports.

Despite her huge success, Tulisa was subject to a "year from hell" at the height of her fame in 2013. Her world came crashing down when a sex tape featuring her with ex Justin Edwards was leaked online. A year later, Tulisa faced another scandal - when she was arrested for allegedly supplying £800 worth of cocaine.

Undercover News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood - also known as the Fake Sheik - had set her up by posing as a wealthy film producer who wanted her to star in a Hollywood blockbuster. He claimed Tulisa arranged for him to be sold half an ounce of the drug via one of her contacts in 2013 and later handed the evidence into police.

The case did go to court, but Tulisa's trial sensationally collapsed after Mahmood was accused of tampering with evidence and lying in the witness box. He was later tried on related charges and sentenced to 15 months behind bars. Tulisa - who always said she was innocent - recently reflected on the challenging year.

Tulisa spoke about it on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, with Fearne describing it as “the year from hell”. Tulisa said: "That year, I call my year of enlightenment. There is nothing like it, you can't buy life experience like that. It was completely unexpected." She added: "I thought at the time, nothing much could shock me. I had seen it all. The deceit that people could commit and the lies to be told. But when that happened, I was like 'wow, this is next level'. Ups and downs throughout that year.

"I have always been very spiritual but the spiritual side of me if what's kept me going. There were days when I would be on that bathroom floor crying my eyes out and having nervous breakdowns, thinking about doing the worst things possible. But I didn't have a choice, you just have to keep going and you keep fighting or you drop. I just chose to keep fighting through it."

Trying to sum up that time of her life, Tulisa explained: "It's very hard to describe the experience and the character traits you could say it has given me. Ultimately, at this point I do see it as a blessing because it was after that year that I began the journey of finding my peace."

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