I'm A Celeb star left unable to walk after show took brutal toll on health
James Brittain-McVey has opened up about the "intensity" of a programme like I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
The musician participated in the 2018 series of the programme, alongside the likes of Fleur East and Harry Redknapp, instantly making friends for life. James, who found fame as one-quarter of the band The Vamps instantly became a hit with viewers and he wasn't nervous about getting his kit off in front of the cameras.
But despite having a physique that some dream of, James has shared the brutal toll the programme took on him and admitted tasks such as walking 30 meters became incredibly tough for him. James, 30, has previously spoken openly about his struggles with body image and food and once said he "lost himself" due to this.
James McVey has opened up about his mental wellbeing after I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!The musician became "obsessed" with how much protein he was putting into his body and losing as much fat as possible, admitting he had an "eating problem" before he joined the chart-topping band. Opening up about his struggles, James exclusively told the Mirror that while he was once extremely self-critical of his body, he's finally at a stage of making peace, although still has "daily things" which will see him think of exercise and food.
However, this changed during I'm A Celebrity and saw him turn his back on his regular diet and calorie intake: "The intensity of the calorie drop was really hard for everyone. I went into that process, I definitely was in a better mental state than I was in 2013, 2014 and 2015 with food. Being in the jungle, I was miserable because of the lack of food. I would have done anything to eat everything.
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"Coming out kind of kickstarted my peculiar relationship with food again because I came out of the jungle really thin but I thought I looked really good, I thought that was strange, I had a negative approach to my body. Looking back now, I look really gaunt, my skin was faded. I was really, really thin – at that time, I was like 'Ah I've got six pack again, great!'"
Chester-born James explained that while he was in the Australian camp, he never once considered his body looking great but he was overjoyed when he saw his abs again after arriving back at the hotel. "The jungle definitely kickstarted that weird process again and it took me a bit of time to get over that," he said, adding: "Luckily, because I'd gone through something similar before with dealing with body image, I was able to equip myself with the techniques and people around me knew the signs to watch out for and I was able to get better without another big kind of relapse."
The Move My Way hitmaker was known for his gym-honed physique and sharing glimpses into his workout (ITV)
James' calorie intake dramatically dropped to just a couple of hundred during his time on the show (Instagram)During his stint, James revealed he struggled to walk 30 meters in the camp due to the lack of nutrition and levels of exhaustion. He stated: "It's important to say that we were probably on 300 calories a day, you think I probably eat 3000 a day now and the average is a couple of thousand per day.
"The point is people wanted to aspire to look like that physique, they need to see the other side of that which I presume wasn't shown on TV. The walk from the camp to where you do the interviews in the evening is probably 30 meters. I had to stop on that walk because I was so exhausted from the lack of energy.
"I couldn't do it without stopping, I was knackered. So the reality of being on a diet that makes you look like that took its toll on every element of my being, I really struggled to do the basics like carrying the firewood. I was knackered. I wouldn't say that kind of diet is something that anyone should want to aspire to."
James' gym routine could have easily made anybody exhausted just by looking at it but the musician, who is currently working on solo music admits that he's toned it down, a lot. During a recent trip to South Africa, he didn't go to the gym once but going back six years, he would have been depressed had he not had a workout. Although his bandmates, Bradley Simpson, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans all enjoy working out, they're not too intense or strict – which James admits is "good" for him.
He credits his Vamps bandmates, Tristan, Bradley and Connor for being supportive of him (Attitude Magazine via Getty Images)
Although each member of the band is working on solo projects – fans shouldn't worry about a split (Handout)The musician admits appearing on I'm A Celeb was not to kickstart a new element of his career – The Vamps were actually at the top of their game and were preparing for another global tour. "I did that show for two reasons, I was a huge fan of that show," he said before adding: "I wanted the challenge because on paper, that show was difficult but I'm not the sort of person that was ever the outgoing person the person that enjoyed kind of like that physical journey.
"When I came out of that show, I was quiet on the show, I was anti-celeb vibes. At the crooks of it, I was very happy and content and I still am, being the guitarist in The Vamps. I came out and didn't run with the opportunity to be a celeb, I turned down a lot of interviews, a lot of brand things – it's not why I did the show. I'm grateful for doing the show, it was a challenge, mentally."
But there's another good thing that came from the programme, James' engagement to model Kirstie Brittain. He proposed in January, just weeks after leaving the jungle. Reflecting on married life, the star commented: "It's been a couple of years now. I met my wife in 2014 so for the whole of my career, she's kind of been behind the scenes. At the start, she was doing her undergrad. All of us in the band have had relationships at different points and I think there's something really nice about having that grounding anchor at home.
"Some people could get quite lost on the road while touring but I think, family ticks the box too, having a partner there and to also be able to share things with them. My wife comes to a lot of the stuff we do nowadays, it's lovely. She's best friends with The Vamps boys."
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Nowadays, the ripped musician is more at peace with his body and has found ways to deal with his previous struggles (James McVey/Instagram)
While James is on the road, he admits his wife, Kirstie Brittain has always been his biggest champion and often joins him (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Addressing a rumoured split from The Vamps, James said: "We were in the studio in the summer, we're going to be doing some more stuff, we just need to get some vocals done. There's no thought process in any of our heads where we're like 'Oh let's leave and pursue the solo stuff'. It's been three years since the last Vamps album – three years for other bands is not that long but I feel like The Vamps have done so many albums in such short succession that people kind of presume something is wrong."
He added: "We've got a big world tour this year that started a year ago, there's going to be more stuff coming, it just takes time to get it right." Speaking about his solo music, he said: "With my music, I'm able to really like go down the rabbit hole of exactly how I'm feeling. I'm able to write five-minute songs, it's nice to have that musical freedom."
The musician teamed up with Mind for his first solo gig in almost two decades after detailing his mental health struggles. James previously revealed he passed out after consuming too much cannabis. He said: "I kind of tricked myself into feeling that it was a good thing for me, a good drug, it was good for my mental health, it was good for my inspiration with songwriting."
Although James admits he wasn't chemically addicted to the Class B drug, he says he "definitely became addicted to the feeling of consuming it". He added: "You can draw parallels actually with my negative obsession with food and exercise. I was getting to the point where my schedules and my routines were centred around smoking cannabis. It took a big moment which was last October when I passed out, it was a real awakening."
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