He kept us entertained with his wild stories in the jungle and had a nation chanting his catchphrase “Holy Focaccia!” Now Mr Showbiz and all-round TV legend David Gest is bringing his highly entertaining show of tall tales and tunes to Butlins.

You've been a TV star, concert promoter and TV producer – is music still your first love or do you like the variety of juggling different roles?

My first love is definitely performing live – being on TV, being on stage. I love it. I used to hide behind people. When I was a kid growing up with Michael Jackson and someone wanted to take a picture of the two of us, I would hide behind him. He's been my friend since I was 12 and I only have around 10 to 14 pictures of us together. I never wanted that public kind of attention before I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

How did you first find your way into the world of music and showbiz?

I started out as a reporter on the Valley News and Green Sheet in Van Nuys, California. I was only 14 years old but I lied about my age and said I was 21. You had to be 21 to get into clubs serving alcohol, and of course they were where named artists were performing. I had an afro down to my butt in those days. I was reviewing shows at the Century Plaza Hotel where all the top artists would perform. My girlfriend Ellen and I hitched or took the bus to those shows. I remember reviewing Ray Charles and Dusty Springfield. Both became friends later on in life and Ray was one of my closest friends. I really miss him!

From the Valley News I got more and more jobs for magazines like Record World and Soul Newspaper. At 20 I was Head of PR for London Records on the West Coast and by the time I was 21, I took the same job in New York. I was handling artists like ZZ Top, The Moody Blues, 10cc, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Hi Records. It was unbelievable.

I started out when I wasn't even old enough to drink and I was always doing the job of somebody much older than myself. I grew up very fast. But of course I was motivated as my best friends were Ed Eckstine and Michael Jackson. As a kid, Billy Eckstine, the legendary singer, took Ed and I to the Ambassador Hotel when he was performing on a bill that consisted of three acts. Let me tell you about the other two: Ed and I sat next to a guy on his piano bench – it was Duke Ellington. The female vocalist who would sing to us at rehearsals was Sarah Vaughan. We were 16 or 17. I wish now that I'd asked for their autographs, handprints and footprints and that I'd kept anything involved with them! True legends, all three of them.

You can count many famous people as friends – is there anyone you'd still love to meet who you admire? I'm not impressed by famous people for the sake of it.

If I were to be inspired by anyone it would be Alexandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, the great Russian writer. I'm inspired by brilliance.

Why did you decide to make London your permanent home? What is it about the city and its people that you love?

I love the way people treat me here. I love them and they love me. People can be frowning and miserable and when they see me they smile. They've embraced me with such warmth. I'm even giving up my citizenship to live here forever – I love this country!

Are you glad you appeared on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!? Has it opened new doors in the UK for you?

The reaction was startling. I came back from Australia a day after the show finished to meet Prince Charles and Camilla and perform on the Royal Variety Show. When I arrived at the airport, there were all these people screaming. I turned around because I thought some big star was behind me. I then realised they were screaming for me. I couldn't figure out why. An hour later I went into a local Tesco and people were saying “Holy Focaccia” and all my catchphrases. I was shocked. Even to this day, I get 20 to 40 people asking me where my maid Vaginica is. Just for the record, she's still in Memphis where she lives.

Before doing I'm A Celebrity, I was in a bad state physically with a head concussion. The show brought me back to reality. Even though the pain has never left me, I realised after being in the jungle I didn't need any material things to get by in life. I have enough money to retire but I don't care about that. I love my life. I love hanging out with creative young people in Camden. I'm the King of Camden and I love it. No more suits and ties for me! I lived that life and I have nothing to prove to anybody anymore.

Are you still friends with any of the other camp members?

Matt Willis is my closest friend in the UK. He's getting married to Emma Griffiths soon and I changed the Butlins date from Saturday 5 July to Sunday 6 July so I could go to the wedding. I'm an usher.

When you filmed your reality show This Is David Gest, was it a strain having cameras follow you everywhere?

Not at all. The show was a smash hit and I'm forever grateful to all my fans for making it one of the highest rated shows on air on Sunday night at 10:15 on ITV1. I had been doing TV for a year and two months non-stop and I recently took a four-month break. I'm ready to go back in front of the cameras now and perform live and work my tushy off!

Tell us about the show you'll be doing at Butlins?

I tell stories, I host a dance contest and I give out major prizes – autographed items from Michael Jackson and memorabilia from artists such as Luther Vandross, Shaggy and Anastasia. I work with an incredible DJ called Pirate Paul. He's amazing. The show is so entertaining. The fun never stops and I dance and jump around. I am actually only 21!

How did the Butins Bognor Regis crowd react to your show?

Those kids were wild. They wouldn't let me tell my stories as they were screaming and chanting “Gesty!” all night, as well as all my other catchphrases. They showered me with love for an entire hour. I loved it. It was my birthday and I had tears in my eyes. The reaction from the crowd was so astonishing… in fact, it was more like amazing!

Your new musical David Gest… My Life! A Musical Concert Extravaganza sees you singing, dancing and doing backflips. Being a straight-talking judge, how would you rate yourself as a performer?

I'm probably the worst singer you will ever hear. I hosted a Whitney Houston concert for Caudwell Children a few weeks ago in London and afterwards Whitney and I talked until three in the morning. I sang her the opening and the finale to my show. She told me I looked phenomenal but I was quite possibly the worst singer she'd ever heard. I told her she was just jealous! I've lost 7 stone since doing I'm A Celebrity and I'm doing things I never thought I could ever do.

The show features the original lead singer of the Stylistics hits Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the New Stylistics, Shalamar, Coolio, Ashford & Simpson, Peabo Bryson, En Vogue's lead singer Dawn Robinson, Billy Paul, Freda Payne and my very special guest star Peter Andre. He sings some incredible duets with Peabo Bryson.

I'm producing an album for Peter entitled Soulful, where he sings with fourteen Rhythm and Blues legends. The live show is two and a half hours of solid music and dancing with more than 25 top five hits, most of them which have reached number one. It's my life story, warts and all. There's a lot of fun and innuendo and it's a great family show. Michael Jackson can't believe I'm doing all of this – he watches clips of me on YouTube and cracks up. He says he plans to surprise me and show up at one of the UK shows. I told him I'm a THRILLER as well!

David gest.....My Life! A musical concert extravaganza tours the entire UK in October 2008.