‘I called the police on Scott’
She survived the jungle, but Helen Flanagan wasn’t quite so brave when she saw a man lurking outside her home
HELEN Flanagan is curled up on the sofa of her glamorous Cheshire mansion, tired, feverish, wrapped up in blankets and surrounded by the contents of a recent dash to the chemist.
She has the flu.
“It’s awful,” she says. “I just got back from a holiday in Dubai and all I’m doing is coughing.”
But Helen is still up for talking about, well, Helen.
Life post I’m A Celebrity, getting into trouble on Twitter, Corrie, her critics and those rumours about her relationship with Manchester City footballer Scott Sinclair being in trouble...
“It’s just not true,” she says, dramatically widening those ice-blue – and rather red-rimmed – eyes.
“Scott and I are as happy as ever. I’m used to people having a pop at me, but I was taken aback when they had a go at my relationship.
“I’ve had people knocking on my door asking if it is true we are in trouble. No we are not!
“Scott’s so lovely to me. When I got home, he was so upset that I wasn’t well. He made me a cup of hot Ribena, put me to bed and just cuddled me. Sometimes that’s all you need.”
It was quite a gesture, given that an hour or so earlier Helen had called the police on him.
“I’m ridiculously jumpy,” confesses Helen, 22. “I got in from the airport and the house was empty. I was unpacking, it was about 2am, and I saw a man on the security camera going around the side of the house.
“I panicked and called the police. Then Scott walked in. It was him! I hadn’t heard his car, so I just didn’t think. I had to call the police to say not to come. It’s really bad to waste police time.”
There are, however, rumours about their relationship to be put to rest.
It was reported that Scott, 23, could no longer put up with his fellow players’ endless cracks about his girlfriend in the dressing room.
More worryingly, he didn’t fly out to Australia when she was voted off I’m A Celebrity, he didn’t accompany her to last month’s National Television Awards, and Helen went on her recent holiday to Dubai without him – taking her agent instead.
She shakes her head.
“Scott’s a professional footballer, which means football comes first,” says Helen. “He can’t just get up and go whenever he wants.
“On top of that, we are complete opposites. When he’s got a day off, I’m like: ‘Let’s get on a plane and go to Paris or Rome.’ But he says: ‘Er, I just want to chill and watch a box-set.’
“He’s watching The Mentalist at the moment. I can’t do that. After ten minutes I want to do something. I’m annoying, but luckily it doesn’t bother him. We’re different – that’s why it works.
“We’ve been together since I was 19 and Scott just gets me. He doesn’t ever tell me off about things I say or do on Twitter. He just says I’m too naive and should be more streetwise.”
Was it difficult having to spend such a long time apart during I’m A Celebrity...?
“Yes. The hardest thing about being in the jungle was missing Scott,” she says. “Most of the time when I was whining about not having a mirror or make-up, it was because I was thinking that he was watching and I wanted to look my best for him.”
It’s nice to hear first-hand just how head over heels in love Helen is.
So, could we be hearing wedding bells or the pitter-patter of tiny feet anytime soon?
“We definitely want to have children together in a year or so,” she admits. “But we’re still young and we’ve got a lot going on. What keeps us together is the fact we love each other.”
life after the jungle For all her bonkers behaviour (“sometimes I talk in Gremlin sounds, people often don’t get my banter because it’s so weird”), Helen is, as ever, incredibly likeable and massively self-deprecating, yet slightly vulnerable.
The last time we spoke, Helen told TV Magazine the reason she wanted to do I’m A Celebrity was “to destroy the misconception that I’m just a silly bimbo”.
Does she think she succeeded?
She laughs: “Obviously not. I probably made things worse. But I don’t regret doing it – it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
“I know people thought I was crazy because I was so scared of doing those trials, but I think everyone then realised how insecure I am. I’m not perfect – I wear my heart on my sleeve and say and do silly things – but I’m not a mean person. I think everyone could see that.
“The biggest lesson I learnt from I’m A Celebrity was that I can face all my fears.”
Since leaving the jungle last November, Helen has been offered numerous television presenting jobs and modelling assignments.
“A lot of things are up in the air, but I’m lucky because I’ve got a lot of things to think about,” she reflects.
And what about reports that she’s hoping to go to university soon?
Helen pauses, then says: “It’s not going to happen this year. When I said that, Scott looked at me and said: ‘Babe, are you saying that just to score points?’ He knows I hate people thinking I’m stupid when I know I’m not. But the point he was making was don’t do something because you feel pushed into it. He talks a lot of sense.”
Helen does have a habit of getting herself into trouble.
There was the photo of her with a gun that she posted on Twitter in December, just days after the Sandy Hook school shootings in America where 20 children and six adults died.
“I can’t say how awful I felt about that,” she stresses. “It was dreadful. It’s taught me a lesson and I do think twice about what I post now.”
Then a story emerged about her blaming Coronation Street for the depression which haunted her teenage years.
“That really upset me,” says the actress, who played Rosie Webster for more than a decade. “I was in tears because I’d never, ever criticise Corrie. I love the show and everyone there. I would go back any time.”
One story that is true, however, is that she’s currently writing a book for young girls about the problems she suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – along with depression and an eating disorder.
“I’d hate to be someone who moans about their life, because I’m fully aware of how lucky I am,” she says.
“But I’m a complicated person. A lot of people don’t understand why I behave the way I do. ADHD can have a massive effect on you, from never being able to be on time to not being able to concentrate.
“Also, I’m really insecure and often worry that people will think I’m stupid and won’t want to give me the time of day. Often, when I’ve got dressed up and posted pictures on Twitter, it’s due to my insecurities, not vanity. Putting on nice clothes and make-up is a sort of armour I use to make myself feel better and ready to face the world. I think a lot of girls know exactly how I feel.”
So, aside from her ongoing efforts to try to change people’s perception of her, what’s next for the actress?
“I still feel like I have to prove myself, so I would love to do something gritty and unglamorous – like having a role in Skins,” reveals Helen.
“Being in the jungle and doing those trials that terrified me made me realise that things get thrown at you in life and you should just have a go. That’s what I want to do.”