I’m A Celebrity… South Africa fans were left devastated as fan favourite Joe Swash lost the survival trial against Phil Tufnell and was sent packing. While many fans hoped that Joe might be crowned King of the Jungle once again, it wasn’t to be.
The former EastEnders star was a late entry to the show, joining alongside fellow soap star Dean Gaffney. The pair are close friends, with Joe recently mentioning on the show that Dean attended his stag do.
In his exit interview, Joe made a shock confession about his close friendship with Dean – sadly he’s one of his only friends.
Joe Swash admits he ‘doesn’t have a lot of friends’
Joe made a sweet confession about his friendship with Dean, as he say admitted he doesn’t have a lot of friends. He revealed: “Do you know what, Dean is a really good friend of mine. I love Dean. He is the kindest, warmest person. I don’t have a lot of friends, I only really like to have people around my family that are kind and genuine. And Dean is one of those people. So I was so honoured to go in with him.”
Joe added that Dean is like “a member of his family”. He added: “Having Dean in there felt like I had a member of family in there with me. I could spend time with Dean, he’d give me a cuddle when I was feeling low so I was really lucky to have him.”
Despite his worries about being a late-entry, Joe said the pair were welcomed. He added: “Going in late, I thought it would be awkward, as it always is when I’ve watched this show. The late arrivals always get a bit of a hard time. But it was completely the opposite. When me and Dean arrived there, they were so happy to see us. We just felt part of the group straight away. And like I said, we just laughed. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. I had an amazing experience.”
Having Dean in there felt like I had a member of family in there with me.
The star also spoke about the stomach-turning drinking trial he and Dean took part in, but admitted he’d do it again to watch his friend. He joked: “Honestly it was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever done. And I’ve done loads of trials. But I would have done it all over again just so I was there to watch Dean. He was hilarious. It was all worth it just to be there to experience Dean.”
Joe confesses ‘stand-out’ memory from I’m A Celebrity… South Africa
And Joe’s love for Dean didn’t end there, as the star admitted his stand-out memory from the series was spending more time with Dean. He said: “I think my little relationship with Dean. I’ve known Dean for years but this is the first time we’ve lived together and spent a lot of time together. I just love him. And hopefully it comes across how much I enjoyed the experience and how funny it was. I loved all the people in there.”
Joe also confessed that he found his experience in South Africa tougher than Australia, as he was away from his family. He added: “I think I found it tougher ultimately because of being away from the kids for so long. I missed my family so much. We had our phones taken away and I’ve never not had communication with them before. My kids are young and I knew they wouldn’t really understand where I was and would be upset. It really played on me.”
Joe met his wife, Stacey Solomon, when she competed on I’m A Celeb back in 2010. He added camp will always have a special connection to him: “And being in the camp, it always brings up memories for me of Stacey. If it wasn’t for the show, I would never have my family. My family were always in the front of my mind. I found that really difficult. A lot harder than I thought I would. But again I was really lucky as the people in camp kept my spirits high.”
Read more: I’m A Celebrity… South Africa fans convinced they know which two stars leave next
I’m A Celebrity…South Africa continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Episodes are also available for catch-up on ITVX.
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