Joe Swash has shared how his wife Stacey Solomon reacted to his I'm A Celebrity South Africa stint
The former EastEnders star won the ITV show back in 2008, after impressing the viewers at home and his campmates, and he is heading back into the jungle as part of an All Stars version airing on ITV.
Tonight, it was confirmed Joe will arrive in South Africa alongside his former soap colleague Dean Gaffney, with both of them deciding to do the show for the sake of their kids - who were much younger when they were first on the show.
I'm A Celebrity holds a special place in Joe's heart because it was how he met his wife Stacey.
Speaking about what the show means to him, he said: "I’m A Celebrity holds a big place in my heart. I won it and I was lucky enough to go on to present the spin-off series on ITV2 for ten years. I met Stacey whilst I was out in Australia and me and Stacey have now married and we have had kids. Doing the all-stars series is closure. It finishes off the circle."
He added: "Stacey is over the moon about me doing it. The jungle holds a big part in both our hearts. Without the jungle, we wouldn’t have each other. In a way, we owe it to the jungle to say goodbye."
Joe says his eldest son was just one when he took part in the show the first time around - and now he wants to be able to show all his kids, including the much younger ones, how him and their mum met.
"My eldest son, Harry, was one when I did the jungle and he is 16 now! I want the kids to watch I’m A Celebrity… South Africa and for both of us to be able to tell them ‘I’m A Celebrity is where mummy and daddy met’. The jungle is always going to be a big part of our family," he explained ahead of his arrival into the jungle, which will be aired during tomorrow night's episode.
Joe also confirmed his ideal campmate, of course, would have been his wife Stacey, as he admitted doing the show was like full circle for him as it meant so much to the whole of his family and his kids.
"I can’t express enough my gratitude for the fact I met Stacey on the back of it, had my kids and it gave me a whole different direction with my career. Doing the All-Stars series is closure. It finishes the circle," he shared.
*I'm A Celebrity...South Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
