Joe Swash

Joe Swash
Born	Joseph Adam Swash 20 January 1982 (1982-01-20) Islington, London, England
Occupation	Actor, TV presenter
Partner	Kara Tointon (2008-2010)

Joseph Adam Swash (born 20 January 1982 in Islington, London) is an English presenter and actor. He once played Mickey Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders. He is the older brother of Shana Swash, who played his on-screen younger sister Demi Miller until July 2006. He also won the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! on 5 December 2008. He reprised his role as Mickey Miller for 2 episodes in order to coincide with his onscreen brothers departure.

Career

Swash studied at Highbury Grove School in Islington, and attended Anna Scher Theatre School on the advice of his mother's friend, actress Linda Robson. Swash attended the school with Natalie Cassidy, James Alexandrou and Brooke Kinsella, with whom he later worked in EastEnders.

When Swash was seven, he made his first TV appearance in an Andrex advertisement, and at the age of eleven he was cast in the movie The Adventures of Pinocchio, with Dawn French and Griff Rhys Jones. He made minor appearances in several television series such as Casualty, The South Bank Show, The Bill and Nickelodeon's LOL: Laugh Out Loud. In 2002, Joe Swash appeared as a participant in the ITV documentary Club Reps, and on 8 November 2008 Joe and his family appeared in Family Fortunes. He also appeared with his sister on the CITV Saturday morning show Ministry Of Mayhem.

He was about to give up on the idea of becoming an actor when he won a role in BBC's EastEnders. He was cast as Mickey Miller and made his first appearance in EastEnders in April 2003 as a recurring character. Owing to a positive viewer reception, producer Louise Berridge turned Mickey into a regular character, and his on-screen family arrived a year later, including Mickey's little sister Demi, who was played by Swash's real sister, Shana. His son, Harry Swash, also appeared in the soap as his niece Summer Swann for a minimal period. On 26 February 2008, it was announced that Joe Swash, along with the actor who plays his stepfather, David Spinx, were being written out of EastEnders in a "big explosive storyline". He made his final appearance in July 2008. Since the announcement of his departure, Swash has been critical of the direction producers took with his character. He has blamed his three-month screen absence in 2005 (due to meningitis) for Mickey becoming little more than "light-relief". However, he has expressed an interest in returning.. He later reprised his role of Mickey Miller in early 2011 in order to coincide with his on screen brothers departure from the soap.

Swash has expressed an interest in presenting, as well as appearing in "Brit-flicks".

In November 2008 Swash entered the Australian jungle to appear in the British reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, which he went on to win. Swash subsequently performed as Buttons in the pantomime Cinderella, at the Central Theatre in Chatham, Medway.

He also appeared on The Weakest Link twice: once in 2006 and once in 2008 on the Eastenders special. He got voted off on both appearances.

In December 2008, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show, and on the 11th January 2009 he appeared during the "Who Knows The Most About The Guest Host" segment on The Sunday Night Project.

In February 2009, Swash, along with TV presenter Tim Vincent, became the Guinness World Record Holder for throwing the most pancakes to a partner as part of a challenge on Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show.

Swash was announced as charity Meningitis UK's patron in April 2009. The disease led to his grandmother Betty's death in 1999.

From September 2009, Swash, along with ex-rugby player Austin Healey will be appearing in the new series of Hole In The Wall as a team captain for Series 2.

Joe took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 26 December 2009, however receiving an injury being forced to quit.

In 2009/2010, Swash, appeared in the pantomime Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in Bristol.

In 2010 he was a team captain on What Do Kids Know? along with Rufus Hound and Sara Cox on Watch. He has also appeared in the celebrity edition of the Cube.

He is currently presenting the children's show "Gimme A Break" on the CBBC Channel since 2011.

From 2009, Swash has presented spin off series ' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, NOW!' alongside Caroline Flack and Russell Kane. In 2011, Flack was replaced by Laura Whitmore.

On 5 March 2011, Swash and Caroline Flack participated in Let's Dance for Comic Relief, dancing to My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas. But they were voted out by the panels vote.

As of 2011, after Flack departed I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now, in order to work on commitments on The Xtra Factor, Swash and Flack have now joined together once more on new ITV2 game-show Minute to Win It and BBC kids-take-control show Gimme A Break.

In October 2011 Swash appeared in an episode of The Real Hustle. Later in November 2011, Swash's new show for CBBC, Driving Academy was aired.

Personal life

Swash's background is a mix of Irish, Scottish and Italian (Swash's great-grandmother, Maria Christina Swash (née Raimo) (1899–1973) was Italian.) He grew up in Islington in north London. His father Ricky William Swash (1955–1994), a London cab driver, died of a heart attack when Swash was 12, and he and his two younger sisters, Caisie and Shana, were subsequently raised by their mother, Catherine M "Kiffy"(née O'Connor), who had married Ricky (sometimes mistakenly spelt as Riccie or Richky) in 1978. Swash has said that he is particularly close to his youngest sister Shana, as he took on a paternal role towards her following their father's death. He has commented, "Shana's more than just a sister to me. I look out for her. If I go away, I miss her so much. It was hard when my dad died – it was so sudden. Shana was only little so it's been tough for her. We've got a special connection there – we look the same and have the same personality [...] Dad dying made me grow up pretty fast – I've learned a lot from it. And it makes you appreciate your family more."

Swash was dubbed the "Swashbuckler" by the British press, due to his regular appearances on the London club circuit. He has admitted that he was regularly reprimanded by EastEnders' bosses for his alcohol-fuelled partying. Swash was forced to take a three month break from EastEnders in 2005 after he contracted meningoencephalitis. Swash has commented, "I couldn't talk. Half my face was numb and I couldn't get the words out. I was constantly sick and couldn't stand." He spent a fortnight in intensive care and doctors told him they were not sure he would live; however, he recovered with no lasting damage.

On 16 June 2007, Swash's fiancée, Emma Sophocleous, gave birth to their first child, a boy named Harry Swash. On 19 January 2008, it was announced the couple had separated, and in December 2008, Swash stated that he was in a relationship with his former EastEnders co-star Kara Tointon, who played his onscreen sister Dawn Swann. In May 2010 it was announced that the two had split due to a lot of arguments. On 3 November 2009, Swash was declared bankrupt by London's High Court after failing to pay a £20,000 tax bill. Swash's agent Becca Barr said it was a mix-up and the actor is not in financial difficulty.

Preceded by Christopher Biggins

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Winner 2008

Succeeded by Gino D'Acampo

External links

• Joe Swash at the Internet Movie Database
• King of the Jungle Joe Swash pledges support to meningitis charity – from Meningitis UK
• Joe Swash profile from Biogs.com