I'm a Celebrity campmate Naughty Boy on visiting Wales and caring for mum ahead of 2021 show

Behind some of the UK’s biggest hits, the 36-year-old, real name Shahid Khan, will be introduced to many people for the first time as the ITV show returns to Abergele this weekend.

“I’m not the celebrity, my music is the celebrity,” he said. “The songs I have, they’re the famous ones. I think this is an opportunity for people to get to know the man behind them.”

Naughty Boy is no stranger to spending time with celebrities, though, having collaborated with the likes of Beyonce, Sam Smith and Emeli Sandé, so he is likely to more than fit in at the Gwyrch Castle camp.

The multi-platinum selling artist was due to visit Gwyrch Castle last year, however the complications of the pandemic whilst being a carer for his mum posed too great a risk. But he is rearing to go this year after another invite by ITV producers, and he is now coming to the end of his isolation period at a secret house on Anglesey.

Naughty Boy performed with Bollywood star Kanika Kapoor in front of Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2018. Picture: David Mirzoeff/PA

“When it came back around this year, I just had such a good feeling,” he said “Things are so much easier with mum at the moment.

“It was just a bit risky for me to leave mum for that amount of time and, to be honest, if it was in Australia I don’t think I would be doing it because I couldn’t be away from my mum for that long.

“I thought, if there’s still an opportunity, I want to take it.”

While he is from Watford, Naughty Boy said he is “more local” to North Wales than Australia, which might prepare him for the challenge. Lockdown restrictions may have helped to become better used to domestic life and a more caring neighbour.

The I'm a Celebrity... Get me Out of Here! campmates will meet at Gwyrch castle on Sunday.

“It was just me and my mum and we just had to adapt,” he said. “We all had to adapt to a new kind of way, and I became more homely and more caring. I think we all were. I’d go to my neighbours and drop them little medical packs like paracetamol, just doing whatever I can.

“I think that has prepared me for the castle, because I want to be of service. I liked cooking a lot during the first lockdown, and I can take that into the castle, but I don’t know how prepared I am for what the castle has in store for me.

“I would have liked to be in a warmer climate, but because I am more local I’m prepared to deal with it.

“I won’t be scared of anything – but then I could be scared of everything…”

His campmates include Cheshire’s Louise Minchin, retired football star David Ginola, Radio 1Xtra DJ Snoochie Shy, Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley and The Saturdays’ Frankie Bridge.

Naughty Boy in his I'm a Celebrity gear.

Nauthy Boy will not meet them until the first day, however he believes that being an easy talker will be a big benefit during his time at the camp, however he does not know what challenges it will throw at him to test his character.

“I love talking to people, asking questions,” he said “Sometimes just the most honest questions. I want to get to know people. We’re all going to be there supporting each other.

“The weakness I won’t know ‘til I’m there. I’m scared of heights but then I’m also scared of confined spaces, so it doesn’t really make sense.”

He said fellow artist and friend Emile Sandé – whom he collaborated with on hits including Lifted and Wonder to more than 35 million views on YouTube – gave him advice to “shine your light and just be yourself”. “I’m going to take that into the castle,” he said.

He will also take a wanderlust for Wales into the castle, having visited only in August while filming with Jemima Khan, and discovered he “loved the energy” of the country.

“Having been to Wales beforehand it made me realise what a beautiful place it is,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like London; Cardiff feels more vibrant and different.

“I’m glad that I’m doing it at the castle in Wales, not that I wouldn’t want to go to Australia, but there’s something spiritual about this land.”

Naughty Boy, like all other campmates, wants to avoid the gruesome food trials, and he may not be best prepared for them. “I think I’ve got the technique,” he said. “Holding my nose… But I don’t know if that actually works!”

But it seems that as long as he does his mum proud he will be happy. A British Pakistani Muslim, he said he also wants to keep in touch with his faith on the show, which could give him the chance to learn about others’ religious experiences.

“[Mum] is so excited,” he said. “She was very anxious about me leaving last year.

“She said so many nice things, for me not to worry about her. She told me to start every day with a prayer.

“I do want to shine my light and share my light with people, to get to know each other’s faiths. I’m looking forward to those kinds of conversations.”

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! will be broadcast on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday, November 21.

Follow the latest updates with the Rhyl Journal.