Stacey Solomon has spoken for the first time since husband Joe Swash left fans baffled when he wasn’t on a cast list for the I’m A Celebrity All Stars spin off show. Viewers were left confused during Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway when his name wasn’t mentioned when the list of stars was announced.
Former EastEnders actor Joe became King of the Jungle in 2008, seeing off competition from the likes of tennis great Martina Navratilova and Star Trek icon George Takei to triumph Down Under. Joe, whose wife Stacey Solomon is also a previous I’m A Celebrity champion, was noticeably absent from the list of contestants, as they were revealed as part of a massive surprise on this weekend’s Saturday Night Takeaway, BirminghamLive reports.
The I’m A Celebrity All Stars line-up includes Shaun Ryder, Jordan Banjo, Carol Vorderman and Helen Flanagan, with Janice Dickinson, Paul Burrell, Phil Tufnell, Amir Khan and Fatima Whitbread also announced to take part.
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Stacey, who appeared on I’m A Celebrity herself, has not confirmed Joe’s stint in the South Africa spin off. But fans know Joe disappeared for a filming project towards the end of last year - sparking speculation he will be heading in.
ITV has confirmed further names will appear throughout the series, which debuts next month. Stacey has not addressed the announcement herself, she shared an update on Joe.
On Instagram, she wrote: “Daddy has got man flu so it has been us three this weekend. While he is recovering in bed! So this morning I am going to pop over to nanny’s and hopefully grab a cuppa,” alongside a laughter emoji and prayer emoji. Stacey added: “Happy Sunday.” The sweet snap showed Rex with Belle and Rose, her two youngest kids.
Speaking about the I’m A Celebrity series, which was previously announced by Geordie presenters Ant and Dec last year, Ant said: “It’s a question we always get asked... Who would you bring back to the jungle? So to get this opportunity to make a brand new show in South Africa and put some of our previous campmates through their paces again was the dream.”
Dec added: “It’s bigger and wilder than we could have hoped for so viewers are in for a real treat!” The reason Joe’s absence from the line-up came as so much of surprise is the fact he was pretty much ‘confirmed’ as being a contestant on All Stars by Loose Women star Linda Robson, when he appeared on the ITV show in October last year.
As he sat on the panel Birds of a Feather Linda asked him: “You’ve been away for a little while haven’t you?” Looking alarmed, Joe calmly replied: “Yeah I’ve been away for a little while Lind,” as Linda continued: “You’re not allowed to say where you was or what you were doing,” as Joe joked: “I knew you’d get there in the end Lind!”
Realising what she’d done, Linda then shouted: “Change the subject!” with her colleague Judi Love commenting: “Never tell Linda any secrets!”
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