FORMER Colchester schoolboy Darren Day has unveiled his bid for the Christmas number one alongside reality TV star Gemma Collins.

The pair, who appeared together in Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, have reunited for a rendition of Baby It’s Cold Outside.

The single will help raise money for the Rethink Mental Illness charity.

The 52-year-old actor and TV presenter and former TOWIE star Gemma will release the song today.

And it has already received the backing of superstar Robbie Williams.

In a special message to Gemma he said: “Thank you for making me smile and making me laugh, we need more of that on our televisions.

“Good luck with the single with you and Darren. It is a cracker.”

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Gemma said the pair wanted to do “something fun and fabulous” for charity as it’s been a tough year.

She added: “I hope this spreads some cheer and warmth in your hearts.”

Baby, It’s Cold Outside was written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and introduced to the public in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter.

It has famously been recorded by Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson and the likes of Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald.

Darren and Gemma appeared on Good Morning Britain and spoke about how the collaboration came about.

Darren, who went to the former Sir Charles Lucas School in Colchester, said: “We were going to record a little fun piece for Gemma’s Christmas show and we were going to do a Christmas song.

“We are going to do White Christmas originally then my fiancée Sophie said what about Baby It’s Cold Outside because it is a ready made duet.

“We got chatting and said ‘Wouldn’t it be great to release this for a charity’.

“Mental health for me is very personal and very close to my heart but I think this year particularly, after the year we have had, it seems a great time to do it and very poignant.

“We are going to go out there and have a bit of fun and make some money for Rethink.”

Darren, who has also appeared on the West End, spoke about mental health and how important it was for people to speak out.

He said: “I was supposed to be on tour and I was diagnosed with some disorders in March which I think if I had been on tour I wouldn’t have had time to get tested for.

“In some respects I feel like the early lockdown has saved me a little bit and because of that it has been really important to try and get involved with the mental health charity, to help others and to put the word out.”

Gemma added: “It wasn’t planned. We were just filming for my Christmas special and we had a bit of a mess about and it went from there

“It’s a true fact, if you don’t sing or hum a tune, it can mean that you’re depressed or have a form of depression.

“So I just want everyone to sing along to it.

“Don’t worry about what you sound like, it’s just a real good, feel good festive factor.”