Gemma Collins admits she's lied about living in Essex and gives out fake addresses

Gemma Collins regularly gives out fake addresses to ensure nobody will ever know where she actually lives, she admitted on the first episode of her new BBC podcast.

The TOWIE star, 38, confessed she's lied about her Essex home and actually lives out in the woods, far from prying eyes.

Speaking on the launch of The Gemma Collins Podcast, the GC revealed that nobody knows her real address.

"So today we're here at home, and home for me is in the middle of the country - nobody knows where I live," she told listeners.

"I have a few fake addresses but no-one will ever know where I truly live."

Gemma never lets people know where she actually lives (ITV)

She claims to be living in the middle of the country - not in the east, where Essex is (ITV)

She went on: "It's a very tranquil place, it's in the middle of the woods and I love, love, love nature - I find it so beautiful when I see deers going through the garden and fish plopping up for air."

The reality star, who has not only scored her first podcast but also launched her spin-off ITV show Total Diva this month, also admitted she finds her reality TV career exhausting and often needs a power nap to cope with her "12-hour days".

"Doing reality TV, you are working - imagine going to work every day and having a camera on you every five minutes," she pointed out.

"There is parts throughout the day when you wanna scratch your butt or pass wind, scratch your nose, have a sleep for five minutes in the toilet. But you can't, 'cos the camera's constantly there so it's weird.

Gemma said she has to nap to cope with her gruelling 12-hour days (ITV)

It's a tough life being a diva (ITV)

"It's really tiring, even though you're thinking 'oh come off it, Gemma, you're just walking around Hollywood getting filmed', I've still got to entertain, I've still got to make sure I'm not passing wind or kicking back for a minute, 'cos guess what, it's going to be picked up on the camera."

Gemma also moaned about her gruelling work schedule, claiming it's given her the ability to sneak in 40 winks wherever she can.

"I can go to sleep anywhere as long as I have an eye mask and it's dark, I can sleep," she bragged.

"Naps are a huge part of my day because sometimes I have, like, 12-hour days. So I need to make sure I get these fast naps in, 100%."

Gemma found herself in hot water earlier this year when she was caught napping on the Dancing On Ice set minutes before a full dress rehearsal, leaving stage staff and her fellow celebrities furious at being held up.

*The Gemma Collins Podcast is available to stream every Wednesday on BBC Sounds