Peter Andre: I built a rod for my own back with Mysterious Girl

Peter Andre pictured last year (left) and in his 1996 heyday as a pop star (right). Credit: Composite using PA images

Peter Andre has revealed he is conscious of how he looks because people still compare him to how he looked in that iconic '90s music video.

Andre, who is now 41, said he "built a rod for my own back" when he revealed his six pack for the 1996 video Mysterious Girl.

Despite rating himself as a "seven" out of 10 - because he has a full head of hair and it is not grey - Andre told the Sunday Mirror's Notebook magazine, "I was never a heartthrob. I never had the full package."

The singer, whose career was revived when he appeared on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in 2002, said the only time he ever felt truly famous was when he toured with Madonna and received a standing ovation.

Peter Andre poses in October 1997. Credit: John Stillwell/PA Archive/Press Association Images

"For a moment I thought I'd made it, then I crashed back to reality as I did a gig the next night and no-one turned up," he said.

The ITV star said he loves the fact that his career allows him to meet so many new people, but that he has learned to be "thick-skinned" and accept that not everybody will like him.

Peter Andre and his fiancee Emily MacDonagh. Credit: Matt Crossick/Matt Crossick/Empics Entertainment

He told the magazine:

Despite embarking on a UK tour again this month, the singer revealed he has swapped post-gig parties for going home to see his fiancee, Emily, and their baby daughter Amelia.

Andre said his other children, Junior Savva and Princess Tiaamii from his previous marriage to Katie Price, think he is "cool" after he recorded the theme song for the Disney/Dreamworks film Mr Peabody & Sherman.

"The kids think I hang out with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Sometimes I pretend to call Mick and make lunch plans. They love that," he said.