Just over eight years since he first appeared on the show, veteran reality star Joey Essex has made a shock comeback to I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The TOWIE icon has signed up for the current series of I’m A Celeb Australia, where he made a surprise appearance as a camp intruder during the most recent episode and will star alongside Aussie celebs like Miss Universe Australia 2020 Maria Thattil and Olympic swimmer Emily Seebohm (no, us neither).
Joey finished in fourth place behind Emmerdale’s Lucy Pargeter, fashion designer David Emmanuel and eventual winner Kian Egan of Westlife fame when he appeared on the ITV show in 2013, but will he be able to repeat his success?
It seems he’s got some work to do before he wins over Aussie viewers though, as many took to social media to admit they had no idea who he was when he first popped up on the show. “I watch A LOT of reality tv & have never heard of Joey Essex,” tweeted one, while another remarked, “Who the heck is Joey Essex?”
A third wrote, “No idea who Joey Essex is,” to which another agreed, “Me neither, I had to Google his name.”
In fact, the official I’m A Celeb Aus Twitter account ran a poll which revealed that a whopping 67.3% of their followers said they didn’t know who Joey was. Ouch.
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All the I'm A Celebrity winners EVER (slider)
1 of 202002: Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn was the first ever winner of I'm A Celeb back in 2002. He had a dramatic fall from grace in 2016 when he was sacked after 49 years working for the BBC, for failing to co-operate with the Jimmy Savile inquiry. He has since returned to the BBC and also hosts a podcast with Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson called Ricky and Tony's Pop Detectives.
2 of 202003: Phil Tufnell
Since winning I'm A Celeb in 2003, Tuffers had a long-running stint as team captain on A Question of Sport from 2008 until earlier this year. He also competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 and regularly appears on Test Match Special.
3 of 202004: Kerry Katona
What hasn't Kerry been up to since winning the show in 2004? After starring in a series of fly-on-the-wall reality shows called Kerry Katona: Crazy in Love, Kerry Katona: Whole Again and Kerry Katona: What's the Problem?, she's appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and Celebs Go Dating. Kerry also briefly rejoined Atomic Kitten in 2012.
4 of 202004: Joe Pasquale
I'm A Celeb viewers were treated to not one but two series in 2004, with comedian Joe Pasquale inheriting the crown from Kerry Katona. These days, he continues to tour across the UK with his stand-up comedy shows. He also took part in the 2016 series of Tonight At The London Palladium on ITV and is the voice of Underdog, the cartoon dog mascot of National Accident Helpline.
5 of 202005: Carol Thatcher
The journalist and author lives in Switzerland with her partner Marco Grass. In 2016, Carol blocked a proposed statue of her late mother, the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, because the sculptor had neglected to include the Baroness' key accessory: her handbag. This, among other things has driven a deep wedge between Carol and her twin brother Denis Thatcher.
6 of 202006: Matt Willis
After being crowned King of the Jungle in 2006, Matt and his Busted bandmate James Bourne formed a supergroup with McFly - brilliantly called McBusted. Matt and James then had a word with Charlie Simpson and got the band back together taking Busted back on tour with the original line-up, and releasing the song Coming Home. He's also starred in EastEnders and Birds Of A Feather. Currently, Matt is touring the UK in a production of the musical Waitress.
7 of 202007: Christopher Biggins
After winning I'm A Celeb in 2007, actor Christopher Biggins won Celebrity Come Dine With Me in 2009, took part in Celebrity MasterChef in 2014 and Celebrity Big Brother in 2016. Biggins continues to work in pantomimes and received the Lifetime Achievement award at The Great British Pantomime Awards in 2017.
8 of 202008: Joe Swash
Cheeky chap Joe Swash swapped EastEnders for the jungle and won the show in 2008. Since then, he's been all over TV and landed a job as host of the spin-off I'm A Celebrity: Extra Camp in 2009. Last year, he won Dancing On Ice and regularly pops up on daytime TV faves This Morning and Loose Women. He got engaged to 2010 Jungle Queen Stacey Solomon in 2019 and has also welcomed two children with her.
9 of 202009: Gino D'Acampo
The nation fell in love with Gino in 2009. Since winning the show, Gino is a regular fixture on TV screens from This Morning to Celebrity Juice and his Gino, Gordon and Fred shows with Gordon Ramsey and Fred Siriex.
10 of 202010: Stacey Solomon
After showing off her bubbly personality on The X Factor, Stacey Solomon entered the jungle and won the show in 2010. Since then, she's been a regular panelist on Loose Women, brought out her own book, welcomed two children and gotten engaged to Joe Swash.
11 of 202011: Dougie Poynter
McFly guitarist Dougie Poynter was crowned King of the Jungle ahead of TOWIE's Mark Wright in 2011. Since winning the crown, he's become a model and has created a new band, INK. He's still part of McFly though and regularly tours the country with the band.
12 of 202012: Charlie Brooks
EastEnders actress Charlie Brooks couldn't believe it when Ant and Dec announced her as the winner in 2012. She continued her role as Janine Butcher on the show until 2014 when she left to go to Paris and recently returned to Albert Square earlier this year after seven years away.
13 of 202013: Kian Egan
After 22 days in the jungle, Westlife star Kian Egan was crowned the King in 2013. He reunited with his Westlife bandmates in 2018 for an album and a tour. The boyband are also set to tour again next year and have a new album in the works.
14 of 202014: Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty
Retired world super bike racer Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty won over the viewing public in 2014. He hasn't been seen a huge amount since then, unfortunately.
15 of 202015: Vicky Pattison
Vicky Pattison showed a different side to her usual Geordie Shore antics, winning over the public and being crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2015. She since had a spot on the Loose Women panel, and even loved the jungle so much that she went back in for the Australian version in 2018, coming fourth place. She's since taken part in Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Coach Trip and also hosts her own podcast The Secret To.
16 of 202016: Scarlett Moffatt
Former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt was crowned Queen of the Jungle after winning the show in 2016. She's since had plenty of presenting roles and had a regular spot on the I'm A Celeb spin-off show alongside Joe Swash until it was axed in 2019.
17 of 202017: Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo
Made In Chelsea star Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo was crowned 2017's Queen of the Jungle after beating Jamie Lomas. She's since presented backstage at the National Television Awards, been a reporter for This Morning, starred on Celebrity Gogglebox with campmate Stanley Johnson and released her own clothing collection.
18 of 202018: Harry Redknapp
Football manager Harry Redknapp was crowned King of the Jungle in 2018, beating actors Emily Atack and John Barrowman to the top spot. He won over viewers with his heart melting praise of wife of nearly 60 years, Sandra. Harry and Sandra appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox the following year. They were most recently seen when their son Jamie married his girlfriend Frida Andersson-Lourie.
19 of 202019: Jacqueline Jossa
Since winning I'm A Celeb in 2019, former EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa has launched a number of clothing collections with In The Style.
20 of 202020: Giovanna Fletcher
Giovanna Fletcher was crowned the first ever Queen of the Castle last year and recently announced that she was replacing Lily Allen in West End show 2:22 – A Ghost Story. She's also just released a new novel called Walking On Sunshine.
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However, there were some who were looking forward to seeing Joey on the show including one who wrote, “Knew it was Joey Essex going in. Can’t wait. Should be a laugh.”
One more added, “I guessed Joey Essex before the reveal. However, notice how he’s lost the thick accent – I hope we see more of the real Joey & not the character he plays on TV.”
I’m A Celeb Australia is Joey’s latest reality TV venture following his appearance on last year’s Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion alongside Chloe Ferry and Curtis Pritchard. He’s also appeared on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Celebrity Ex on the Beach and Celebrity Masterchef in recent years.
Joey’s following in the footsteps of former Geordie Shore stars Vicky Pattinson and Charlotte Crosby who have both appeared on the Aussie version of I’m A Celeb.
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Most recently, Charlotte entered the South African jungle – where the Australian show is usually filmed – in 2020 and quickly struck up a romance with co-star Ryan Gallagher as they kissed and spooned in the middle of the night following her split from Joshua Ritchie.
Sadly though, their relationship just wasn’t meant to be and Charlotte called things off after admitting she and Ryan had moved too fast and that her thinking had been “clouded” by hunger.
“I think with all the excitement, I came in here, there was attraction and all of a sudden, I had like, no food in my system and I had clouded thinking,” she said in the Bush Telegraph.
“I was going light headed. I got carried away. Then I remembered what me mam told us, 'Do not be stupid and do what you always do'. You know what I've learned in the past? My mam is always right. I can't just jump into another one!"