Showbiz

Gemma Collins ‘in talks to make her grand return to the jungle for I’m A Celebrity All Stars’ despite famously quitting after just 72 hours in first stint

Gemma Collins ‘in talks to make her grand return to the jungle for I’m A Celebrity All Stars’ despite famously quitting after just 72 hours in first stint

Gemma Collins is reportedly set to give I’m A Celebrity another go, after famously quitting the show just 72 hours in the first time round. 

The TOWIE legend, 44, headed Down Under back in 2014, but only lasted in the jungle for three days before jetting back to the UK.

However, according to new reports, she could be making her long-awaited comeback for the ITV show’s All Stars series in South Africa.

The Sun reports that Gemma is the top of the wish list for the new series and that bosses have already begun initial talks with the star, though nothing has been agreed yet.

A source told the publication: ‘She hated it first time round but knows it would be TV gold for her fans if she gave it another go.

‘The discussions could go either way but signing her would be a huge win for execs.’

Gemma Collins is reportedly set to give I'm A Celebrity another go, after famously quitting the show just 72 hours in the first time round (pictured during 2014 series)

Gemma Collins is reportedly set to give I’m A Celebrity another go, after famously quitting the show just 72 hours in the first time round (pictured during 2014 series)

The TOWIE legend, 44, headed Down Under back in 2014, but only lasted in the jungle for three days before jetting back to the UK (seen)

The TOWIE legend, 44, headed Down Under back in 2014, but only lasted in the jungle for three days before jetting back to the UK (seen) 

However, according to new reports, she could be making her long-awaited comeback for the ITV show's All Stars series in South Africa (pictured in February)

However, according to new reports, she could be making her long-awaited comeback for the ITV show’s All Stars series in South Africa (pictured in February)

Following her abrupt exit over a decade ago, Gemma admitted she would be willing to give the jungle another go if given the chance.

She told the Sun in 2015: ‘Everything would be different a second time. I’d be like Lara Croft and Angelina Jolie rolled into one, and I’d do the tasks.

‘I’m not scared of nothing. Hopefully one day the producers may give me another chance.’

And the reality star has previously vowed to stay until the end, telling the Mirror ahead of her jungle adventure: ‘I think that I’m going to find it extremely tough; like every time I think about it, I feel sick, actually.

‘It’s going to be difficult for me, but, you know, no one takes the GC down. Yeah, every time I feel down, I’m just going to take a deep breath, and go, “You can do this. You can do it.” That’s what I’m going in with, that mindset. Nothing can kill me.’ 

During her appearance on the show, the GC was seen complaining over the lack of food and far-from plush environment, leading many fans to suggest this was the reason she left.

But shortly after appearing on the show, Gemma claimed that she was beaten by former boyfriend Alex Moss before heading Down Under – an allegation that he has denied.

She told The Sun at the time: ‘I was severely beaten up by my partner the night before I went into the jungle. I’m lucky to be alive. He beat me to within an inch of my life.’

Following her abrupt exit over a decade ago, Gemma admitted she would be willing to give the jungle another go if given the chance

Following her abrupt exit over a decade ago, Gemma admitted she would be willing to give the jungle another go if given the chance 

She also said: ‘The jungle was harder than I ever expected, I am just not as strong as I thought I was.

‘A personal and very serious incident that happened to me hours before I flew to Australia affected me in camp far more than I could have imagined and I just couldn’t carry on in there.’

Giving further details in 2022, Gemma revealed that she was ‘robbed and physically attacked’ just 24 hours before appearing on I’m A Celeb.

Taking to her Instagram to wish the new batch of celebrity contestants luck, she shared a video compilation of her short stint on the show.

But giving some more insight into the reason behind her hasty exit, the star admitted she’d been in a ‘terrible state’ at the time, while recovering from the attack.

Gemma wrote: ‘Wishing everyone the best of luck in the jungle this season loved @boygeorgeofficial and all the camp mates seem fabulous / my time was short in the jungle not many people know that I was robbed and physically attacked 24 hours before leaving for Australia.

‘I didn’t want to let anyone down so I still went however I was in a terrible state and shock as you can imagine and couldn’t see it through I took lots of stick over it but if you was robbed and attacked and then sent into the jungle I’m sure you would have struggled too, I would never let anyone destroy my dreams again’.

Last year, Gemma revealed the devastating effect the nationwide ridicule she received for her short-lived appearance had on her.

Giving further details in 2022, Gemma revealed that she was 'robbed and physically attacked' just 24 hours before appearing on I'm A Celeb

Giving further details in 2022, Gemma revealed that she was ‘robbed and physically attacked’ just 24 hours before appearing on I’m A Celeb

Giving some more insight into the reason behind her hasty exit, the star admitted she'd been in a 'terrible state' at the time, while recovering from the attack

Giving some more insight into the reason behind her hasty exit, the star admitted she’d been in a ‘terrible state’ at the time, while recovering from the attack 

She faced backlash for shedding tears over the prospect of jumping from a helicopter and the lack of tasty treats on offer, admitting she had to develop a ‘thick skin’ to cope with the cruel trolling.

Speaking on The Mail’s Everything I Know About Me podcast in May, Gemma confessed at one point the negativity caused her to become so low she began having suicidal thoughts, saying ‘she could have been’ like Caroline Flack.

Caroline tragically died by suicide in 2020, after being arrested on suspicion of ᴀssaulting her then-boyfriend Lewis Burton.

Recalling the period after her jungle exit, Gemma said: ‘Can you imagine getting the biggest TV show, getting paid £75,000 which was a hell of a lot of money then, and then getting beaten up , then getting robbed? That upset me.’

Breaking into tears, she went on: ‘And then all the embarrᴀssment of like, you know what the TV programmes were saying, “Gemma Collins left the jungle, she was hungry, she was this…” 

‘And it wasn’t my fault. I can remember laying in my flat where I lived and just thinking I just want to die. I haven’t done nothing wrong. I’ve left the jungle because of something that happened to me.

‘No one was even honest about what happened to me, so I had to walk around with this shame that I’d done something wrong.’

Gemma continued: ‘That, I’m gutted about because I feel like I was robbed of my moment and then I was also made to feel like the worse person on earth. So that’s in the past but it has affected me for sure. 

Last year, Gemma revealed the devastating effect the nationwide ridicule she received for her short-lived appearance had on her

Last year, Gemma revealed the devastating effect the nationwide ridicule she received for her short-lived appearance had on her

Speaking on The Mail's Everything I Know About Me podcast in May (seen) Gemma confessed at one point the negativity caused her to become so low she began having suicidal thoughts

Speaking on The Mail’s Everything I Know About Me podcast in May (seen) Gemma confessed at one point the negativity caused her to become so low she began having suicidal thoughts

‘But that’s my biggest kind of regret with the jungle because I probably would have gone on to win the show. I would have been hilarious on there you can see from the first couple of days I was in there.

‘But all the psychological like, sh**, that was given to me after that, I could have killed myself. I actually remember being in my flat thinkin, “I think I’m going to kill myself I can’t cope”.

The TV personality revealed it took her two months to be able to come out of hiding and improve her mental state, after reaching ‘breaking point’.

But she reflected: ‘I think it made me such a stronger person. People call me a diva because I have certain boundaries. 

‘What happened to Caroline Flack, that could have been me after the jungle. And that really could have been me. I’m pleased I didn’t do anything silly because I would have regretted it.’

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