Joe Swash slams his EastEnders exit as 'worst' one ever

Joe Swash wearing a hat and red t-shirt posing in South Africa
Joe Swash is taking part in I'm a Celebrity: South Africa. (Image credit: ITV)

 Joe Swash has revealed he'd be open to returning to EastEnders, even though he's gutted he never got a dramatic ending.

Speaking on Thursday's episode of I'm a Celebrity: South Africa, Joe admitted he'd be keen to reprise his role of Mickey Miller, who he played between 2003 and 2008, with a brief appearance in 2011.

But he hasn't been on the square since and has revealed he'd like to return to the role at some point in the future if he was asked to do a comeback.

Speaking to his campmates, Joe said: "I wouldn’t mind it. You know exactly what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, how you’re doing it. But they’ve never asked me mate, not once."

However, he admitted he wasn't a massive fan of his EastEnders exit, and while some celebrities have famously had dramatic departures, Joe's was a little more subdued with his character leaving to get a new job. 

He added: "I had the worst outro ever! I didn’t even leave at the end of the episode. So usually you leave at the end of the episode and you get the 'doof doof'. Mine, I went to Norwich to be a bell boy at a hotel."

"Mid-scene I just walked into the Vic and went, ‘Right, see you later’. They turned back to Phil, turned back to me and I’d gone. I was like, 'What, that’s it?' I was there five years and not one doof doof!"

The actor joined the ITV reality series later than the original line-up, with he and fellow soap star Dean Gaffney being brought in earlier this month. Dean played the role of Robbie Jackson in the BBC soap between 1993 - 2003 and then again between 2017 - 2019. 

In an interview with The Mirror, Joe went on to say that both I'm a Celebrity and EastEnders were a huge part of his life, revealing: "There are always rumours about EastEnders. I would definitely consider going back. 

"But there’s not been any word and there’s not been any speak of it on my part but I will say there have been two jobs in my life that mean the absolute world to me and that was EastEnders and I’m A Celeb."

He added: "EastEnders started me off on the amazing path that I’m on now, and I absolutely loved my time there."

I'm a Celebrity: South Africa continues on ITV1 at 9 pm on Friday, May 5. Episodes are available on demand via ITVX

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress