Joe Swash, 44, and his wife Stacey Solomon, 37, return to television on Tuesday evening (November 10) with the third series of their BBC fly-on-the-wall show, Stacey & Joe.
The series, originally launched in 2025, offers another look into the couple's hectic household. It follows Joe as he finally pursues his longstanding ambition to launch his own fishing lake and glamping site, while the family also bids farewell to Pickle Cottage after five years.
From EastEnders to Presenting
Joe became well known as an actor in the BBC soap EastEnders, portraying the charming troublemaker Mickey Miller from 2003 to 2008, before brief returns in 2011 and 2024.
More recently, he has moved into presenting, hosting programmes including I'm a Celebrity... Extra Camp, Minute To Win It and Britain's Young Dads.
Joe's Health Battles
It was while Joe was appearing in EastEnders that he found himself battling for survival after being afflicted with a severe brain condition. In 2005, Joe became unable to speak or stand without vomiting. He was rushed to hospital, where medics determined he had meningitis and encephalitis - inflammation of the brain.
For a fortnight, he received treatment in intensive care, with his family told to brace themselves for the worst outcome. Eventually, after six weeks, Joe was discharged home, though the young actor faced a lengthy rehabilitation.
He was forced to take three months of unpaid leave from EastEnders while undergoing intensive physiotherapy to help him relearn how to speak and move. Three years on, Joe received the news that he was being dropped from the show.
In February 2008, it was announced that Joe and David Sphinx, who portrayed his stepfather Keith Miller, were both leaving the BBC soap. Joe remained convinced his illness had ultimately cost him his position.
"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 featured during the inaugural series of Stacey and Joe in 2025. He discussed his ADHD and dyslexia diagnosis and looked back on his school years and feeling misunderstood as a youngster.
During a conversation with the Press Association, Joe spoke about his diagnosis and explained: "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."
Joe Swash's Famous Sister
Joe's real-life sister, Shana Swash, also appeared in EastEnders as his on-screen sibling, Demi Miller, from 2004 to 2006, causing a stir in Albert Square with her compelling teenage pregnancy storyline.
After departing the BBC soap, Shana, 36, has maintained her acting career with appearances in Doctors, Top Boy, and the films Love Without Walls and These Walls. She's also an entrepreneur, having launched her own coffee truck before recently expanding into a retail premises.
Shana is engaged to Nick Jones, and the couple has one daughter, Kitty, with their second child expected in December.
Joe and Shana were both youngsters when their father, Ricky Swash, passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack triggered by an undiagnosed cardiac condition called Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome. He was only 39.
During an appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, Joe became visibly emotional as he spoke candidly about losing 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."
Stacey & Joe airs Tuesday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
