Mel B says she now deliberately loses her phone in the house after she enjoyed the feeling of not looking at it constantly when she went into the Costa Rican jungle for Celebrity Bear Hunt.

Mel, 49, and the other 11 celebs gave up their phones as part of the challenge of the Netflix show and asked about how they felt about the digital detox, the Spice Girls singer said: “I loved not having my phone. Since I’ve got back from Costa Rica, I purposely lose my phone in my house and refuse to go find it. I love that freedom and before I’d be on my phone, because it’s my work, it’s my lifeline. But that’s kind of had a lasting effect on me. I like that.”

She admitted in general she tends to be a bit of a control freak and the show has helped reduce that slightly. Mel added: “For me, it helped me understand what to let go of control was, because we didn’t have control over anything, you know, even the going to bed time, the waking up, what was going to happen during the day. You just had to just, you know, the reins were off, and you just had to just go with it and deal with it.

“I’m surprised that I let go of my control, and I’m I was able to kind of just get on with everybody, because you don’t really know anybody, and you’ve got the cameras there, but you’re with each other, 24/7, and sometimes you have to be playing against each other. And so I think it really showed for me how versatile I can be and how adaptable. Everybody just got on the boat and got on with it.”

Celebrity Bear Hunt hosted by former This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby sees famous faces dropped into the jungle and become prey for survival expert Grylls.

The contestants stay in a lodge and are pursued by Grylls, 50, when they enter the Bear Pit, where they are given a map and different options for escape.

Other contestants including Lottie Moss agreed the digital detox was good for them but they have not been able to make changes like Mel has. Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas said: “I try to but I think I got worse. Honestly, I do try. I put my phone in a drawer or something. But I am just constantly getting it out.”

The terrain in Costa Rica, where the show was filmed, meant that the competitors also faced injuries. TV presenter Steph McGovern said: “I was permanently covered in bruises, my first thing where I get caught by Bear, I managed to get his hand print in bruises on my legs. I mean, I bruise easily, he was just doing his job.”

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen pushed himself beyond the limit and “blacked out” during one trial in the sea and needed to be rescued by Bear and then received oxygen.

* Celebrity Bear Hunt is available to stream now on Netflix.

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