Joe Swash speaks out after leaving I’m A Celebrity South Africa

Joe Swash has spoken out after his exit from I’m A Celebrity… South Africa this week.

The actor and TV presenter left the All Stars show on Tuesday night after a head-to-head trial with fellow former King of the Jungle Phil Tufnell.

Reflecting on his time in the camp, Joe said: “I found it amazing. It was such an amazing group of people that made me and Dean [Gaffney] feel immediately welcome. I don’t think I’ve laughed as much for years. Honestly, my ribs were so sore from laughing. It was quite an overwhelming experience as well because the jungle means so much to me.

“As in, I worked on it for over a decade, I met my wife on there, I’ve now had children. It was so nice to go back in there. It all sort of came back to me how much the show has done for me. It was lovely. It was really nice to go back and sort of say thank you. That was a big part of returning for me.

“Also, I was honoured to be one of the few that got to go back to be one of the legends. It was such a nice experience and something me and Stacey can show our kids and let them know, it all started from the jungle.”

Speaking about competing against team with their ‘prides’, Joe continued: “Dean’s team won every Trial which meant they got a phone call from home. But more importantly, they got three wonderful picnics, day after day and my team just got rice and beans.

“By the end of it, I came out losing about 10 pounds and I think Dean put weight on!”

Joe said of taking on trials once again: “You know what, I found it really difficult. It’s been years since I did the show. I was never really good at the eating challenges and whenever the drinking ones came up on the spin-off show, I’d avoid them like the plague. They are harder than the eating Trials in my opinion. The volume and amount of stuff in the drink. The first Trial was horrendous, I found it really, really difficult.

“And then I had one other Trial which was my exit Trial. I found that really hard as well. Where I hadn’t eaten much for days and I was tired. I just wasn’t up for it as I thought I was going to be. And there were snakes! I’ve never really had to do a snake Trial and it caught me by surprise as I didn’t think I’d be scared of them and I was. I gave it my best shot. Age has kicked in and I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Admitting he found coming back to the show “tougher” than the first time, Joe shared: “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.

“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.”

I’m A Celebrity…South Africa continues tonight at 9PM on ITV1 and ITVX, catch up on the full series on ITVX.