GEMMA COLLINS FIRST came to public prominence back in 2011 when she joined the cast of reality TV show, The Only Way Is Essex.

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30-years-of-age at the time, Gemma was considerably older than her co-stars, and seemed to be cast in order to fill the persona of the ‘scorned but seasoned’ woman.

She spoke about herself in the third-person, regularly referred to herself as ‘a diva’ and didn’t shy away from using the moniker ‘The GC’, so, naturally, it wasn’t long before Gemma became somewhat of a parody of herself.

However, there was little doubt that the brash behaviour and the bling lifestyle belied a considerably more vulnerable side, and yet this was often vilified rather than pitied as she appeared on more and more reality television shows.

Staggering from her ill-fated stint in the I’m a Celebrity jungle to the relative comfort of the Celebrity Big Brother house, with appearances on In Therapy and Celebs Go Dating thrown in for good measure, the line between what constituted Gemma, the person, and Gemma, the reality star, became ever more blurred.

As such, she has been the subject of notable criticism; from her weight to her personality, it seems nothing is out of bounds when it comes to condemnatory commentary of Collins.

Put simply, she became a caricature, and it’s much easier to sling mud at a caricature.

Bizarrely, however, Gemma – on some level – seemed to play up to this criticism, implying that she herself wasn’t entirely sure where the individual ended and the reality star began.

It is, however, her most recent endeavour which is likely to add fuel to the critics’ fire as the 37-year-old is taking part in the upcoming series of Dancing on Ice.

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Anyone familiar with Gemma’s depiction of herself during previous TV stints can only imagine the type of the sentiments likely to be levelled at her amid her latest television endeavour.

And with Gemma regularly indulging the persona she has created for herself in spite of regular criticism, it’s interesting to hear just how determined she is to suddenly sway opinion.

Speaking to The Sun, Gemma acknowledged this image, saying:

Everyone thinks I’m the fat joke on the show but whatever’s going to happen in my life, I can do this.

“And I’m going to prove every f*cker out there wrong. People will be eating their words. That’s how I feel,” she continued.

I’m not worried about injuries. I’m insured, actually, for a couple of million, so if I do have an accident, it sort of does me a favour, if you know what I mean. But I don’t want to.

“I’ve gone from doing no exercise to exercising two hours a day,” she added.

Gemma’s determination to prove the public wrong (and avoid injury) is wholly and undoubtedly admirable, but is the former ill-fated?

After seven years in the spotlight, Gemma is suddenly keen to quash the image she has spent a career appearing to perpetuate, and with the benefit of hindsight, that desire is completely and utterly understandable.

It is worth questioning, however, whether participation in yet another TV show is the place to do it.

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