Toyah agony over facelift

Toyah Willcox has told for the first time how she had plastic surgery because of the pressure of celebrity and jibes about her appearance.

The former pop star's decision to go under the knife followed comments by male commentators after appearing in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

In her new book, the 46-year-old actress explains how a gruelling tour in the title role of Calamity Jane had affected her looks. She says: "I looked haggard and gaunt and no amount of sleep could cure the tiredness imprinted on my face. I felt so bad about my appearance that I couldn't look in the mirror without my heart sinking." Willcox says she

had been contemplating cosmetic surgery since she was 26 and was concerned her skin was ageing rapidly. But the catalyst was appearing in I'm A

Celebrity in 2003.

She says: "On returning home, I read various derogatory newspaper articles about my jungle experience and listened to hurtful comments about me on radio and television programmes. There seemed to be an obsession with the fact that I hadn't worn any make-up in the jungle. On his Radio2 show, Jonathan Ross said I looked so awful that I shouldn't be allowed to be seen on television, and that male tabloid writers backed up this view. The worst thing was that, secretly, I agreed with them."

Willcox paid a surgeon in Paris £7,500 to do a "lower lift" to get rid of her "sagging jaw line" and work around her eyes. Willcox says: "The reality of it all hit me hard, but the unavoidable truth is that, if you want to look better, your skin has to be cut.

I realised that, despite having done everything possible to remain in good shape over the years - I don't smoke, drink, over eat or stay up late - age inevitably catches up with you."

The chronicling of her surgery was taken from her book Diary Of A Facelift, extracts of which were published today in the Daily Telegraph. Her husband Robert went with her to the hospital in February last year.

She says: "Because I was completely incapable of conversation I sent Robert away with a hug and a kiss, telling him I would be fine.

"As he walked off, it dawned on me that the next time I would see him my face would have changed for ever. Will it be good, will it be bad? Is this the point of no return? I was past caring; I was too damn tired."