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After being coaxed through beatings with bull hooks to walk a tightrope and pirouette around a stool, an elephant retreats to a tiny pen to be chained to the concrete for the rest of the day.

It proves too much for tearful animal lover Alesha Dixon .

The Britain’s Got Talent star flew to Thailand in December with charity World Animal Protection to shoot secret footage highlighting the cruelty of its animal “entertainment” shows.

But after two days of seeing their psychological and physical abuse , she begged companion Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach to leave the wildlife attraction.

“We’d seen a lot of awful things prior to that,” the singer said. “It was the final straw. I couldn’t look at a chained-up elephant . I had to get out.”

The orangutan show in particular shocked Alesha, 38. As she watched from the stands, a bikini-clad female walked into a boxing ring, waving a score card as a male orangutan in shorts and gloves prepared for a brawl.

On a platform nearby, more apes in bikinis danced to music blasted from the stage.

“I didn’t like seeing them in bikinis or bras and doing sexual movements,” Alesha said. “I felt uncomfortable. They were sexualised, poked fun at. Some of the audience were laughing. I couldn’t see what was funny about it.

“The orangutans are afraid and trained so intensely they’re just going through the motions. They’re imprisoned and abused for money, for our entertainment. For me, there’s nothing entertaining about an animal suffering.”

The elephants – forced to kick footballs and spin hoops on their trunks – were also distressed. “It was like the life had been taken out of their eyes,” said Alesha.

She added that she felt “ashamed to be human” while watching tourists lap up the elephants’ show.

“My job is to perform, to entertain, it’s my passion and it’s a choice that I made for myself. I cannot imagine being forced to do it.”

In the footage, Alesha sees a two-month-old tiger cub thrust into a tourist’s arms while feeding from a baby’s bottle. Once the punter has their photo, it is shoved in a cage.

Alesha said: “It was heartbreaking. They’re babies, taken from their mums so young. It was hard to watch without saying anything.”

But Alesha did snap and challenge the female handler a crocodile whose jaws had been clamped shut.

She said: “I asked her how long the crocodile has its mouth tied and she said eight hours.”

The charity estimates 110 million people visit the sites but Alesha feels they would stop if they knew of the abuse – and TripAdvisor is now on board. “We’re a nation of animal lovers,” said Alesha, who owns three rescue dogs. “When people understand, I believe they will stop supporting these venues.”

On BGT , Alesha regularly assesses animal performers – with past winners including dogs Pudsey and Matisse.

But the panellist said: “The producers reassure us that the animal is being looked after. They do thorough checks.”

And of the animal attractions in Thailand, she adds: “Wild animals are wild for a reason. If they wouldn’t naturally do something in the wild, they shouldn’t be doing it.”