JOE Swash has revealed he fell victim to a Christmas prank by Stacey Solomon, leaving him in a VERY embarrassing situation.
The 42-year-old EastEnders actor, who played the loveable Mickey Miller, returned to Walford for the first time in more than a decade as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations this month.
Reprising his role 13 years after his last appearance, he found himself in a surprisingly cheeky situation, in a fundraising attempt to save Bridge Street Market.
And while Mickey bared all to save the market on-screen, Joe’s also been the butt of jokes around the house off-screen.
He said: “Just today, I woke up and my toenails were painted green and my fingernails painted yellow.
“I’ve been getting petrol, buying stuff and walking around with this luminous green nail polish on my hands.”
Underlining his cheeky side, Joe has been including Jammie Dodgers in Elf On The Shelf stunts as part of the biscuit brand’s campaign, to impress the children – but admits Stacey is the creative genius behind the ideas.
For one such stunt, a standard size biscuit and a mini one were used to make it appear as if elves had shrunk the popular snack – much to their kid’s amazement.
He said: “When the kids came into the kitchen in the morning, they were like, ‘oh my god, it’s shrunk. He shrunk the Jammie Dodgers’.
“Then I banged on the door and was on my knees with my shoes on my knees. ‘Yeah, oh my god, it’s shrunk me’! It was the perfect combination.”
It’s all part of a campaign by the brand to inspire parents to encourage families to be mischievous this Christmas – to inspire them to act their shoe size and not their age.
And these are sentiments Joe and family appear to live by.
Speaking about another prank pulled on him by Stacey, he said: “She woke me up at half five in the morning, so I was shocked.
“Before the kids, she’d stuck my hand in a bowl of water and chucked a load of peas all over me in bed.
“And the idea was to make it look like I had pee’d myself, but she just chucked a load of frozen peas on me.”
Joe’s return to Albert Square left fans calling for him to come back for good and he’s revealed he’s open to a more permanent return – though he admits he didn’t quite realise he’d be stripping off for this comeback to the Square.
Stacey Solomon has been a familiar face on viewers' screens for over a decade. Let's take a look back at her career.
The X Factor (2009): Stacey competed in series six of long-running ITV singing competition The X Factor. During her time in the show, she was mentored by Danni Minogue in the ‘Girls’ category. The star finished in third place, behind Joe McElderry and Olly Murs.
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here (2010); In late 2010, Stacey headed to the infamous I’m A Celeb Aussie jungle. After 21 days, she triumphed to win the tenth series. It was through I’m A Celeb that she met future husband Joe Swash – who’d won two years earlier and was hosting the ITV2 spinoff.
Celebrity Juice (2011―2013, 2016―2019): The star appeared as a panellist on 21 episodes of the comedy panel game show hosted by Keith Lemon. Stacey was a regular in the 21st series, broadcast in 2019.
Loose Women (2016 – present): Stacey has been a permanent panel member of the daytime show since 2016. She previously made guest appearances in 2011 and 2012.
Sort Your Life Out (2022 -present): This BBC show sees Stacey, with the help of an expert team, transform participants’ living spaces after removing clutter.
Bearing all, Joe was straight back into the thick of it 13 years later, posing nude for a calendar which EastEnders characters Mo and Kim have organised to raise money to save the market.
He said: “I always say to people, they bring back people from the dead if they really want them. If they wanted me, they know where I am.“
The former I’m a Celeb winner had nothing but good things to say about his return this month, adding: “I love it there. I really enjoyed going back.
“And I think if it worked for my family and stuff like that, it would definitely be something that I’d have to consider strongly, because I have such fond memories of the place.
“I love the people that work there as well.
“But it really has to suit my family and suit the kids so, I don’t know whether it would work or not.”
Joe admitted he was so carried away by his long-awaited return to the show that he completely overlooked the fact he would be getting his kit off on camera.
Luckily, he didn’t have to go completely starkers, as he was given a flesh covered thong to cover up his bits.
Joe said: “They asked me whether I wanted to go back to be one of these legendary characters to celebrate the 40th anniversary,
“I was just like, ‘oh yeah, I think I’ll do that’.
“It wasn’t until we got there, and I got the script and thought ‘oh, I’ve got to get naked!’
“I’ve never looked so dad like in all my life, so it probably wasn’t a good time to get naked either.”
The father-of-six admitted to having nerves about going back on EastEnders, adding: “I was nervous because I hadn’t done any acting for a long time, and I was (also) going to be naked.
“But everyone was really kind, so I was happy.
“I just really wanted to learn my lines and get them under my belt. I didn’t want to let myself down, and just did the best I could.”
