Fleur East: I want Harry Redknapp on my album

Harry Redknapp – or ‘MC Hazza’ – could be embarking on a music career if former I’m A Celebrity campmate Fleur East has her way.

East, 31, said she is keen to get the former football manager to feature on a potential upcoming album after he showed off his rapping prowess Down Under.

She told A list: “I would definitely have him. I feel like he’s become part of my extended family. If I get my album out I will have him on an interlude for sure. The return of MC Hazza!”

East taught Redknapp to rap on the ITV reality show, which saw him refer to his wife as “peng ting,” as well as teaching him the moves to her 2015 hit Sax. But despite their close friendship she is nervous for Redknapp and their fellow campmates to hear her new single Favourite Thing.

“We have a Whatsapp group and we talk everyday and we’ve all met up,” she said. “James [McVey] posted about it and Nick [Knowles] and Rita [Simmons] and Malique [Thompson-Dwyer] they’ve all been rallying around. They know me so well now from the jungle it’s a pressure now. A show-and-tell which is quite scary.”

Describing the track – which gives a nod to her Ghanaian heritage – she said it is “about when you first meet someone and that honeymoon stage”.

She continued: “It’s quite an empowering stance as well, like ‘I’ve chosen you to be my favourite thing right now’ rather than you being at the mercy of it. You’re owning the feeling of it.”

She said she is keen for Simon Cowell to listen to the track, despite breaking from his record label Syco to join Hunter Corp Records in May.

She said: “Simon’s a busy guy and it took me over a year to get his mobile number and I’ve heard he changes it quite often so I’ve probably got some old number now. I haven’t actually seen him since we parted ways but I’d love to see what he thinks.”

East, who penned the track with Phil Plested and Dayo Olatunji, said people are still shocked to learn that she writes her own material after finding fame on The X Factor in 2014.

“It’s the popstar stereotype that you’re manufactured,” she said. “It was interesting even when I joined Syco that they asked me if I wanted to write and I had to prove to them that I could write. People do think you don’t write and it’s always a surprise when they look at the credits and go ‘oh you actually wrote Sax’. Why should we be any less talented or gifted just because we went on a talent show? We still have the same story and work ethic.”