His spell in the jungle in I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Was enough reality TV for one Lifetime. And yet Jimmy Osmond tells SIMON WILSON he still doesn't mind singing that song…..

Illlll, beeeeeee, yourrrrrrr, no that doesn't work.

“Little” Jimmy Osmond, now a bulky 42-year-old, still singing his 1972 UK No.1 Long Haired Lover From Liverpool? A song he chirped to the top when he was just nine? On his latest album, you'll find a re-recording of it.

“It was a kind of a tongue-in-cheek thing you know”, says Jimmy. “Because it was such a popular song and I think it put me in the Guinness Book Of Records for being the youngest artist at No. 1 over there.”

Will he do it on this tour?

“I don't know yet. I'm not sure what we're doing yet.”

The album Keep The Fire Burning came after his spell in the jungle on ITV's I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, but it isn't a title drawn from his experiences in there.

“No, then it would be called Keep The Shoes Burning, “ he chuckles. “Did you see that on the live stream? I was so cold one night I had my feet right next to the fire and this voice came over the loud speaker: ‘Mr Osmond, please remove your shoes they are on fire'.”

He admits the 17-day experience wasn't a pleasant one.

“It's spider-infested, it's rat infested. It stinks, it's just awful.” He's talking about the toilets in the camp.

Hard to deal with for a man more used to first class hotels?

“Those are the kind of hotels I stay in though,” he jokes.

“No, I'm not really a camper so I was really proud of myself that I was able to cope with the conditions as well as I did.”

I don't understand how you are able to get the insurance for such an outing. Are there an army of jungle-trained experts on hand to protect you all?

“They do watch you on some 20 odd cameras 24 hours but they still can't control nature. Their philosophy is that if you get bit they are there with the medication."

“One thing they were really concerned about was when you cook. That brings the rats, which in turn brings the snakes in. We were always being chastised for how we were cleaning dishes.” He admits: “I felt like I was in a prison camp at times.”

A hobbying cartoonist, with a few children's books published, Jimmy also created the teddy bear he took into the jungle, in which he smuggled a few essentials.

“You wouldn't believe the amount of people that want him. I came through customs and a guy said ‘come on, I'll give you any price for that teddy bear'.”

Jimmy came fourth in the show but won over audiences for his easy-going and personable nature. Still, he won't be cropping up on any more.

“I was never a fan of reality TV until I did it. It was so much fun to be yourself and have people accept you. I had an unusually good experience so I think I'd better quit while I'm ahead don't you?”

The Osmonds sold over 70 million records during the 70s, including the hit singles Love Me For A reason, Crazy Horses and Let Me In.

While Little Jimmy and sister Marie enjoyed a couple of solo hits each, it was Donny who became the biggest-selling Osmond and the pin-up pop idol of the seventies. Some of the family members are now back on tour but there's no Donny. Wasn't he invited?

“Not really because for a long time we've all done our own thing.” Indeed, Donny brought his solo tour to the Royal Concert Hall last year. The Osmonds 2006 tour includes Jimmy, plus Wayne, Jay and Merrill, though he has confirmed this will be his last.

Jimmy now oversees the Osmond empire.“I don't know why that's the case. I'm the youngest so it shouldn't be the case.”

You'll be the sharpest.

“I doubt it.”

He may be the youngest of the siblings but he's just celebrated his 40th year in show business.

“At three I was on The Andy Williams Show.”

Did he miss out growing up in a pop family?

“Not really. I'd have to be a really ungrateful person not to appreciate the opportunities I had. I performed for Queens and with legends and it's been an amazing ride. One I don't ever want to take for granted.”

The Osmonds appear at the Royal Concert Hall March 10. Call 0115 989 5555 for ticket details.