MUTYA BUENA: ‘I take advice from my daughter!’

She’s been in the spotlight for nearly 20 years, rising to fame as one third of the Sugababes in 2000. But Mutya Buena says that being famous has made finding love difficult. She reveals, “Being in the public eye has made dating hard. One guy tried to sing a Sugababes song to me on a date and said he wanted to duet, and another bloke started talking about my Wikipedia page. I’m not down with that – I find it cringey.” Mutya, 33 – who joined the Sugababes aged just 15 – has had a turbulent love life over the years. She had daughter Tahlia with ex-boyfriend Jay aged just 19 before enduring a string of unsuccessful relationships. And the singer says that while Tahlia, now 13, is delighted she’s throwing herself back into dating, being a mum means she’s extra fussy when it comes to choosing partners.

She says, “Tahlia was so excited when I told her I’d be on the show. She knows me so well – she’ll tell me if she thinks a guy’s my type or if she thinks I’d walk all over him.

“I have to be fussy for Tahlia. My daughter is my whole world, so I’d to have to be very sure on a man if he was going to meet my daughter and enter our lives.”

Mutya left the Sugababes back in 2005, but the band’s original line-up – which includes Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Doherty – reunited in 2011 as girl group MKS. And Mutya says that the girls will also be tuning in to Celebs Go Dating.

She laughs, “Keisha messaged me when I told her and said, ‘Oh my God, I’m so happy you’re doing this!’ I’ve always been the one who’s in a relationship that isn’t going well, while Keisha’s always in that steady and stable relationship.

“They’ll both be rooting for me – hopefully I’ll turn up next time I see them and be able to bring along my new boyfriend.”