Joe Swash found 'I'm A Celebrity... South Africa' "a lot harder" than he expected because he struggled being out of contact with his family.
Joe Swash found camp life hard
The 41-year-old actor - who has Harry, 15, from a previous relationship and Rex, three, and 14-month-old Rose with wife Stacey Solomon - won 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' in 2008 but he admitted he found his stint in the all-star show much more "difficult" than his original jaunt because he is a father now and has never spend so much time unable to speak to them.
He reflected: “I found it tougher ultimately because of being away from the kids for so long. 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.
“My family were always in the front of my mind. I found that really difficult. A lot harder than I thought I would.”
But Joe, who met Stacey in 2010 when he was working on the 'I'm A Celebrity...' spin-off show was "honoured" to be invited back for the South Africa competition.
He said: “I was honoured to go back to be one of the legends. It was a nice experience and something me and Stacey can show our kids and let them know, it all started from the jungle.”
The star - who left camp after losing the Temple of Doom trial to Phil Tufnell - was a late entry this year alongside fellow former 'EastEnders star Dean Gaffney and he was happy to get to spend time with his old friend.
He said: “I only really like people around my family that are kind and genuine. Dean is one of those people. I just love him.”
'I'm A Celebrity... South Africa' airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, and on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Player in Ireland.
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