Tulisa Contostavlos revealed her softer side during her appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

The straight talking N’Dubz star has swapped her native north London for the unpredictable wilds of rural Australia after signing up for the 24th series of the ITV show. 

And with the dust barely settled on her first week in camp, the singer, 36, was on hand to offer emotional support to retired boxer Barry McGuigan as he reflected on the tragic death of his daughter, Danika. 

McGuigan fought back tears while discussing her death to leukemia at the age of 33, in 2019, with his fellow campmates on Monday evening. 

The moment prompted an instinctive response from Tulisa, who gave the former fighter a hug as he struggled to compose himself. 

Tulisa Contostavlos with her mother Ann Byrne in 2011. The N’Dubz star was named her primary carer when she was just 11-years old as she struggled with schizoaffective disorder

The singer has revealed a rarely seen softer side during her appearance on the current series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 

Tulisa and her mother in an undated childhood pH๏τo, as seen in 2010 documentary Tulisa: My Mum and Me

Read More Tulisa’s secret health battle revealed that saw her ‘tearing into her face’ leaving ‘gaping’ holes

But to those closest to the singer her compᴀssion is no surprise, not least her own mother Ann Byrne, whose struggle to beat schizoaffective disorder was the subject of a BBC documentary called Tulisa: My Mum and Me.

A talented singer and impressionist, Ann enjoyed fleeting success with her sisters Louisa, Paula and Moira in 1980s swing band Jeep. 

There was also an appearance on short-lived talent show Go For It, in which she performed as Hollywood screen icon Marilyn Monroe.  

But mental health issues would take their toll, and at the tender age of 11, Tulisa was thrust into the role of primary carer for her mum as she battled a combination of bipolar and schizophrenia.

Sufferers of schizoaffective disorder – the condition affects one in 200 people – often become paranoid that inanimate objects, such as a television set, are trying to harm them.

Anne focused all her attention on only child Tulisa, but her daughter become a recluse in their one-bedroom flat on a rundown Camden council estate.

Detailing her mother’s symptoms in 2012 autobiography Honest, she wrote: ‘Mum was obsessive about locking our front door, and it was always locked from the inside with the keys still hanging in the door. 

‘One morning I noticed that although the key was in the lock, it hadn’t been turned, and the door was actually unlocked. 

Ann’s struggle to beat schizoaffective disorder was the subject of a BBC documentary called Tulisa: My Mum and Me in 2010 (pictured) 

Tulisa’s mother was a singer and impressionist in her youth, but she was blighted by mental health issues that affected her relationship with her daughter 

Ann with her sisters in the singing group Jeep (L-R: Ann Byrne, Louisa Byrne, Paula Byrne and Moira Byrne)

Ann dressed as screen icon Marilyn Monroe alongside a youthful Les Dennis as Culture Club singer Boy George 

WHAT IS SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER?

Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness that affects thoughts and behaviour.

Suffers can exhibit symptoms  of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, including mania, depression and psychosis. 

About 1 in 200 people develop schizoaffective disorder at some time during their life.

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‘Knowing that my mum would freak out and feel vulnerable if she spotted it, I turned the key and locked it myself. Within seconds my mum, hearing the jangle of the keys, came tearing out into the hall, screaming at me hysterically.’

She added: ‘I guess she thought I was trying to open the door and panicked, but went completely off the deep end, accusing me of wanting to make her ill, or even kill her, and it went on and on. 

‘Incidents like this were a regular occurrence in our house, along with temper tantrums and mood swings.’ 

Appearing in the 2010 documentary, Tulisa explained that her mother’s illness had made her upbringing so difficult that she rebelled by drinking, taking drugs, joining a gang and even attempting suicide. 

The singer revealed that she became depressed and started drinking as a teenager because her life ‘felt like a living hell.’

She went on to make multiple suicide attempts.

Tulisa admitted: ‘One of the worst things about dealing with my mum was how helpless and alone I felt at such a vulnerable age.’

‘The doctors didn’t seem to be able to stabilise my mother’s moods and I felt myself being dragged further and further down by the environment I was forced to live in.

Sometimes a change is as good as the rest, and so it proved this week when Tulisa swapped her native north London for the unpredictable wilds of rural Australia 

With the dust barely settled on her first week in camp, the singer was on hand to offer emotional support to retired boxer Barry McGuigan as he talked about his daughter’s death 

‘Music and my dream of becoming a success was all that kept me going through those very dark times,’ said Tulisa.

Tulisa was just nine when the reality of her mother’s illness hit her.

She said: ‘My dad left home and it triggered one of her episodes. One minute she’d look all mournful as if someone had died, the next she’d be angry and aggressive, smashing cupboards and shouting.

‘Inevitably, she went into hospital again and I stayed with my mum’s older sister, Louise. She had children of her own and it was felt she was more able to look after a young girl.’

‘I used to dread my mum getting better and coming home because it would mean I’d have to leave my aunt’s house where I felt safe and happy and normal.’

As a result, Tulisa often felt isolated, as she explained: ‘I was 11 and my mum expected me to be her emotional support but I didn’t really understand what that was. It was incredibly tough.’

‘Sometimes I would spend weeks taking her back and forward to A&E and then finally they would admit her and she’d be in hospital for up to three months.

‘I started losing respect for my mum. She couldn’t take care of herself so I didn’t see how she thought she could take care of me.

‘She didn’t want my friends in the house and didn’t want me to go out. I started missing school and got in with a bad crowd.’

In 2007 Anne was finally diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and her behaviour has remained stable ever since.

Tulisa documented her relationship with her mother in her 2012 autobiography, Honest 

Tulisa admitted: ‘Medical experts don’t seem to know for sure whether this disorder is hereditary.’

‘My own feeling is that everyone has the ability to become depressed or go to a dark place, and whether that could trigger the type of behaviour and illness my mum suffers, who knows?’

She added: ‘I believe a lot of it comes down to how strong you are mentally. I have been through a lot for someone my age but it has made me strong and determined and I have to pray that is enough for me not to suffer the way my mum has.’

If you have been affected by anything in this story, call the MIND info-line on: 0300 123 3393.