Joe Swash returns to BBC One alongside his wife, Stacey Solomon, on Tuesday evening (November 10) as the third series of their fly-on-the-wall show, Stacey & Joe, makes its comeback. The 44-year-old first found fame on EastEnders before building a career in television.
The couple opens up their home to cameras as fans get another look into their hectic life, while also bidding farewell to Pickle Cottage in Essex after five years. This season also sees Joe finally pursue a long-held ambition of launching his own fishing lake and glamping site.
From EastEnders to presenting
Joe first shot to fame as an actor in BBC soap EastEnders, where he portrayed Mickey Miller between 2003 and 2008, before making brief appearances in 2011 and 2024. In more recent times, he has ventured into presenting, fronting programmes such as I'm a Celebrity... Extra Camp, Minute To Win It and Britain's Young Dads.
Joe first crossed paths with former X Factor star Stacey, 37, in 2010 on the set of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! following her victory on the series. The duo didn't officially become an item until 2016, and after several years together, Joe popped the question during a woodland stroll on Christmas Eve in 2020.
Health battles and recovery
In 2005, Joe was left unable to speak or stand without vomiting. He was rushed to hospital, where medics discovered he was suffering from meningitis and encephalitis - swelling of the brain. For a fortnight, he received treatment in intensive care, and his family was warned to prepare for the worst.
After six weeks, Joe was permitted to return home, though he faced a long road to recovery. He was forced to take three months of unpaid leave from EastEnders while undergoing gruelling physiotherapy to relearn how to speak and move. Three years on, Joe received the blow of being dropped from the show.
In February 2008, it was confirmed that Joe and David Sphinx, who portrayed his stepdad Keith Miller, were both being written out of the soap. Joe remained convinced that his illness was ultimately responsible for costing him his role. "My illness had a massive impact on the job. When I came back I couldn't find my feet," he told The Sun. "New producers came in and brought in new actors and I got lost down the pecking order."
Joe has also received an ADHD diagnosis, which was revealed during the first series of Stacey and Joe in 2025. He disclosed his ADHD and dyslexia diagnosis and reflected on his school years and feeling misunderstood as a youngster. During a chat with the Press Association, Joe said: "It's helped me understand myself a little bit better. I'm a little less hard on myself, as I understand that there's a reason why I do things in a certain order. It doesn't make a difference to my life. The kids still love me, I still love my kids."
Family and famous sister
Joe's real-life sister, Shana Swash, also appeared on EastEnders portraying his on-screen sibling, Demi Miller, between 2004 and 2006. Since departing the BBC soap, Shana, 36, has kept busy acting with parts in Doctors, Top Boy, and the films Love Without Walls and These Walls. She has also carved out a career as a businesswoman, having launched her own coffee truck before recently expanding into a shop.
Shana is additionally engaged to Nick Jones, and together they have one daughter, Kitty, with their second child due in December. Both Joe and Shana were young children when their father, Ricky Swash, tragically passed away from a heart attack brought on by an undiagnosed condition known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome. He was just 39.
During an appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, Joe became visibly emotional while discussing the passing of his father: "I lost my dad when I was quite young. He was quite young, only 39. I was only 12. When my dad was alive, my house was full of life and laughter, and then when my dad died, for a long time, it was a house full of sadness and grief. A lot of the time it was just trying to get through that period."
The pair wed in 2022 and share three children: Rex, born in 2019; Rose, born in 2021; and Belle, born in 2023. Stacey also has sons Zach and Leighton from previous relationships, while Joe has a son named Harry. Stacey & Joe airs Tuesday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
