Steps singer Claire Richards has revealed she was once turned down the opportunity to appear in I'm A Celebrity. The 41-year-old, who became a pop sensation in the nineties, explained that ITV show bosses discouraged her to take part due to the amount of weight she lost. "It was a time when I'd just lost quite a lot of weight but they didn't realise that I had," she explained. "They wanted me to be fat apparently, that was the excuse I got back, that I was too thin."
© Photo: Getty ImagesClaire Richards has claimed she was once turned down for I'm A Celebrity
However, an I'm A Celebrity spokeswoman has since hit back at the claims. A representative for ITV told HELLO!: "I'm A Celebrity would never cast campmates based on their shape or size, all celebrities are assessed for their suitability to life in the jungle." Claire, who has a history of yo-yo dieting, has previously struggled to control her weight. Over the years, the pop star has fluctuated between a size 20 and a size eight over the years.
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The British singer often speaks out about her journey with food and dieting, previously admitting that food was "like a drug". In 2012, Claire opened up in her book, All of Me: My Story, telling readers: "Food for me is almost like a drug – I get an instant gratification from it, but it doesn’t last very long. So then I have to find the next thing to eat to satisfy my craving. You could compare it to being a drug addict or an alcoholic."
During an appearance on Loose Women in 2015, Claire confessed her weight has played a massive role in her life. She explained: "I have accepted people will always want to know what my weight is. It has dominated so much of my life. When I lose weight, people come and tell me I’ve inspired them. I really like that. But when I gain weight, I get trolled online by keyboard warriors who think they have the right to judge what my scales say." The star added: "You can't win, so I stopped trying to please people, apart from my family, a long time ago. I am who I am and I weigh what I weigh. It just happens to change a lot."
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