Joe Pasquale's son, Joe Tracini, is an actor and singer best known for playing Dennis Savage in Hollyoaks. He changed his surname from Pasquale to Tracini to avoid living in the shadow of his father's fame.
Celebrity MasterChef appearance
Joe Pasquale is currently appearing in the new Celebrity MasterChef series alongside musician and actor Jay McGuinness, Olympic medallist and weightlifter Emily Campbell, former Love Island contestant Shakira Khan, and actress and comedian Donna Preston.
Pasquale has been a staple on screens for years, known for his distinctive voice. He has appeared in Dancing on Ice and The Price is Right, and won I'm A Celebrity in 2004.
Son's career and name change
Joe Tracini, who shares his father's first name, followed in his footsteps as an actor. His TV credits include Coming of Age and Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps. He played Dennis Savage in Hollyoaks from 2011 to 2014 and again in 2018.
As a child, Tracini adored his father and wanted to be his double, telling The Guardian: “I’ve got hundreds of hours of me on film. And it is essentially me, this tiny little boy, being my dad.”
As soon as he was old enough, he changed his surname to avoid the expectation that came with the Pasquale name. He told the Eastern Daily Press: “As my name is literally Joe Pasquale and I didn’t want the expectation and if I’m on a list I’ve got something to live up to.”
Mental health struggles
Tracini, who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) over ten years ago, has been open about his mental health struggles. In his Channel 4 documentary Me And The Voice Inside My Head, he revealed that as a teenager he left home for weeks due to his struggles with BPD.
In the documentary, his father admitted he felt he was “to blame” for his son's struggles. He told his son: “You didn't come home for weeks and weeks and weeks and you made some not-good decisions for yourself. I was in denial of it for a long time but it shouldn't have got to that point. I should have stopped it earlier and I didn't. I was too busy working if I'm honest.”
He added: “It feels horrendous. Every time the phone rings, I still think oh s***. There's a part of you that's very dark inside and wants to end it. I don't have that in me and I wish you didn't have it in you.”
Celebrity MasterChef airs at 8pm every Tuesday on BBC One.
