Naughty Boy: I grew while on I’m A Celebrity and overcame so many fears

Naughty Boy has said he “grew” as a person and “overcame so many fears” during his time on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

The 40-year-old music producer became the fourth celebrity contestant voted off the ITV series after 16 days in Castle Gwrych but admitted he came close to leaving the show while in camp Clink.

Following his exit, he reflected on his experience on the programme and said “he went in a Naughty boy and came out a good (one)”.

He added: “It was a journey that I didn’t expect. The best way for me to go in was with was zero expectations.

“But the journey I’ve had, and the friends I’ve made and the experience, I feel like I grew in there. I grew in the way I handled things.

“When I did the trials I overcame so many fears and I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m grateful.”

He admitted his last night in camp Clink was when he “wanted to leave the most” but was glad he stuck it out as he said he would have regretted the decision, but now has “no regrets” about his time on the show.

The rapper explained his fellow contestant Dame Arlene Phillips, who he became friends with during the series, was one of the main reasons he stayed as wanted to “protect her” while they were in the more stripped-back sister camp, but feels that experience helped bond them.

The music producer completed seven trials and won 52 stars for the camp, but revealed he did question why the public kept selecting him.

“I was thinking ‘I hope it’s because I’m entertaining them and not because they want to see me suffer’,” he said.

Naughty Boy added that once he started winning a lot of trials he felt like he “belonged” in the camp more as he was contributing to the group.

“That was the moment when I started really enjoying myself. That’s why with the trials I wasn’t overthinking it, I was just thinking ‘Don’t think about it, just do it’,” he said.

“I overcame so many fears – snakes, heights, enclosed spaces – and all these things that I thought that I’ve never overcome, so I’m grateful for that.”

He was due to take part in the show last year but declined as he lives with his mother who has dementia and felt there was too much anxiety at the time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The British rapper said his mother was the first person he wanted to see when he got home, adding: “She’s proud of me and that’s really all I wanted.”

Reflecting on if the show has helped him grow out of his “naughty” ways, he said: “I think because my life’s been crazy the last 10 years, I’ve gone from touring the world to living with mum and building a home studio and becoming a carer. It’s definitely humbled me.

“Naughty Boy is a brand, it’s sick, I love it, but man’s a good boy. I think this castle experience has made me proud of myself that I was able to just be me and I didn’t really fight for any screen time I didn’t really force my way into anything. and I’m glad the public want to see me do the trials because I hope I made everyone proud.”