Joey Essex

Joey Donald Essex (born 29 July 1990)^[2] is an English television personality. He came to prominence for his appearances on the ITV reality series The Only Way Is Essex (2011–2013). He went on to appear on various reality television shows, including Splash! (2013), I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2013), The Jump (2015), Celebs Go Dating (2016–2019, 2021), Celebrity Ex on the Beach (2020), Dancing on Ice (2023), and Love Island (2024).

Joey Essex
Essex at Ullswater Community College in 2017
Born	Joey Donald Essex[1] (1990-07-29) 29 July 1990 (age 34) Southwark, London, England
Education	West Hatch High School
Occupation	Television personality
Years active	2011–present
Relatives	Frankie Essex (sister) Frankie Sims (cousin) Demi Sims (cousin) Charlie Sims (cousin) Chloe Sims (cousin)

Education

Essex attended West Hatch High School in Chigwell, Essex.^[3] He left school in 2006, having received a U in Drama, a C in Art and a D in Design & Technology at GCSE. Ten years later, as part of a television series, he added a D in General Studies to his qualifications, commenting that "I still don't really know what GCSE stands for."^[4]

Career

Television

Essex first appeared in The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) as a supporting cast member in the second series with his cousin Chloe Sims but was then promoted to a main cast member in the third series. In 2011, the TOWIE cast recorded and released a single titled "Reem".^[5] In 2013, Essex competed in the first series of Splash! where he was eliminated during the "splash-off" in the second heat against television presenter Charlotte Jackson.^[6] On 13 November 2013, it was announced that Essex had quit The Only Way Is Essex.^[7] Essex also appeared in the thirteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!,^[8] and was voted out on 6 December 2013 after 20 days in the jungle, finishing in fourth place.^[9]

In March 2014, Essex starred in a one-off documentary called Educating Joey Essex, taking place in South Africa, narrated by Phillip Schofield. ITV2 later ordered a full series that began in June 2014.^[10] In 2016, ITV announced that the series has been picked up for a seven part second series; the series aired in the summer of that year with the first episode titled "The Queen's 90th Birthday".^[11] In 2015, Essex won the second series of Channel 4's reality show The Jump in 2015, and in 2016, Essex took part in the E4 reality dating series Celebs Go Dating. It was later confirmed that Essex would return to the show for its second series in 2017.^[12]

Essex (left) alongside Lorena Medina, whom he began dating on Celebrity Ex on the Beach at the National Television Awards in 2020

In 2017, he ranked in fourth place on the Essex Power 100 list, being named the fourth most powerful person in Essex.^[13] In 2018, Essex was a guest in the fourth series of BBC One's Michael McIntyre's Big Show. In 2020, Essex appeared on the second series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, as well as MTV's Celebrity Ex on the Beach.^[14] In 2021, he appeared in the E4 series Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion.^[15]

In 2022, he participated in the eighth season of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, entering the camp as an intruder in the second episode and finishing the show in sixth place.^[16][17] In 2023, Essex came second place on the fifteenth series of Dancing on Ice.

In June 2024, Essex entered the Love Island villa as a contestant on the eleventh series. He entered on the evening of Day 1 as the first "bombshell" of the series. Essex is the first celebrity to appear on the revived version of the show.^[18]

Other ventures

On 8 March 2013, Essex launched a hair products range, Joey Essex: D'Reem Hair.^[19][20] On 23 March 2013, he opened his shop Fusey in Brentwood.^[21] The shop closed in 2016. On 12 September 2013, Essex launched two fragrances, Fusey aftershave for men and My Girl perfume for women.^[22] In February 2016, Essex appeared in adverts for Batchelors Cup-a-Soup.^[23] In May 2017, it was announced that Essex would be launching a clothing line titled DAFDEA.^[24]

Personal life

Essex was engaged to fellow TOWIE cast member Sam Faiers, but later split up. They reconciled later in 2012.^[25] He then proposed to Faiers again in March 2013 and she accepted. However, the couple split up again on-screen in June 2013 following several arguments between the pair. In October 2014, they announced they had split up "for good". In summer 2023, Essex had a brief fling with model Grace Jackson (TV personality) for a couple of months before breaking up. The pair then reunited on Love Island and rekindled their romance which didn’t last long. ^[26]

In June 2012, Essex was mugged at knifepoint in Hammersmith, London.^[27]

Essex, whose mother took her own life when he was ten years old, has been an ambassador for Child Bereavement UK since 2014.^[28] He addressed her suicide and his grief in the BBC Three documentary Joey Essex: Grief and Me broadcast on 3 June 2021.^[29]

Essex moved to Dubai in 2023, following his stint on Dancing on Ice, after thieves reportedly broke into his home in January 2023.^[30]

Filmography

As himself

Year	Title	Notes
2011–2013	The Only Way Is Essex	109 episodes; series 2–10[31]
2013	Splash!	Contestant; series 1
	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	Contestant; series 13
2014–2016	Educating Joey Essex	Presenter
2015	The Jump	Contestant; series 2 (winner)
2016–2019	Celebs Go Dating	Participant (series 1–2); Online presenter (series 4–5)
2018	Five Star Hotel	Contestant[32]
2019	Can I Improve My Memory?	Television special
	MTV Cribs UK	1 episode
	Celebrity MasterChef	Contestant
2020	Celebrity Ex on the Beach	Main cast
	Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins	Contestant
2021	Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion	Main cast
	Joey Essex: Grief and Me	Himself / presenter
2022	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Australia	Contestant; season 8
	All Star Shore	Contestant; season 1
2023	Dancing on Ice	Contestant; series 15[33]
2024	Love Island	Contestant; series 11

Guest appearances

• All Star Family Fortunes (25 December 2011) – Contestant (TOWIE vs Benidorm) – 1 episode
• The Xtra Factor (2011) – Guest
• 8 Out of 10 Cats (11 November 2011) – Panellist – 1 episode
• Daybreak (2011, 21 February 2013) – 2 episodes
• Loose Women (2011) – Guest – 1 episode
• This Morning (17, 31 August, 15 December 2011, 30 November 2012, 21 February 15 July, 12 December 2013, 28 October 2014) – Guest – 1 episode
• The Million Pound Drop Live (2012) – Contestant, with Sam Faiers^[34]
• Celebrity Juice (29 March & 27 September 2012, 11 April 2013, 15 May & 11 December 2014, 19 March & 22 October 2015, 5 May & 27 October 2016, 18 May & 26 October 2017, 3 May, 1 November & 13 December 2018, 14 November 2019 and 16 & 23 April 2020) – Panellist –
• The Big Quiz (15 April 2012) – Panellist
• All Star Mr & Mrs (22 May 2013) – Contestant, with Sam Faiers
• Through the Keyhole (28 September 2013) – Celebrity homeowner – 1 episode
• Through the Keyhole (4 October 2014) – Panellist – 1 episode
• The Cube: Celebrity Special (11 April 2014) – Contestant^[35][36]
• Viral Tap (27 April 2014) – Guest
• Utterly Outrageous Frock Ups (2014) – Guest
• 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (12 September 2014) – Dictionary Corner
• Britain's Got More Talent (29 May 2015) – Panellist
• Celebrity Benchmark (26 September 2015) – Benchmarker
• Release the Hounds (31 October 2015) – Halloween Special – 1 episode
• The Crystal Maze (30 June 2017)
• CelebAbility (13 July 2017) – Contestant – 1 episode
• The Chase (11 November 2017) – Celebrity special
• Michael McIntyre's Big Show (1 December 2018) – Midnight Gameshow Guest
• Through the Keyhole (16 February 2019) – Celebrity homeowner
• Just Tattoo of Us (Series 5) - Guest host – 1 episode
• Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (December 2020) – Celebrity expert on Dating
• Michael McIntyre's Big Show (27 January 2024) – Guest

Discography

Album

Title	Details
Joey Essex Presents Essex Anthems	Released: 17 March 2019 Format: Digital download

Singles

Single	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK
"Reem"	2011	—	Non-album singles
"Last Christmas" (featuring cast of TOWIE series 3)		33
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

1. "Joey Essex's net worth and his full story to fame on TOWIE and the I'm A Celebrity jungle". EssexLive. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
2. "Joey Essex: A Timeline Of His Life..." DailyFeed. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
3. "West Hatch High School has not commented on educating the popular Essex boy". This is Local London. Newsquest. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
4. "Joey Essex receives GCSE General Studies result live on TV". The Independent. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
5. Shah, Kavi (19 June 2011). "TOWIE's Joey Essex signs record deal to release single called Reem". Metro. London. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
6. Westbrook, Caroline (12 January 2013). "Joey Essex misses out on Splash glory as Eddie The Eagle triumphs". Metro. London. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
7. "Joey Essex is leaving TOWIE!". Heatworld. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
8. "I'm a Celebrity: Rebecca Adlington, Steve Davis, Joey Essex among cast – I'm A Celebrity News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
9. "I'm A Celebrity 2013: viewers react with shock at Joey Essex's unexpected exit alongside Amy Willerton". Metro. London. 6 December 2013.
10. "Essex gets ITV2 series". BreakingNews.ie. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
11. "Educating Joey Essex returns for a second series". Digital Spy. 24 April 2016.
12. Dodds, Emma (25 January 2017). "Celebs Go Dating is back for season 2! Here's the line-up". Closer. American Media, Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
13. "Lord Sugar named most powerful person in Essex, but who else made the list?". 27 October 2017.
14. Darvill, Josh (22 December 2019). "Celebrity Ex On The Beach cast and start date confirmed for 2020". TellyMix.
15. "Joey Essex explains exactly why he 'dumps girls so quickly' during his quest for love". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
16. "I'm A Celebrity 2022: International Reality Star Joey Essex Heads Into The Jungle". 10 Play. Network 10. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
17. Cartwright, Lexie (3 January 2022). "Full I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! cast finally revealed". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
18. Delaney, Zoe (3 June 2024). "Love Island viewers puzzled as Joey Essex enters villa as first bombshell". The Mirror. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
19. "Joey Essex Beach Spray 250Ml – Groceries – Tesco Groceries". Tesco.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
20. "Twitter / neonmanagement: JOEY ESSEX D'REEM HAIR". Twitter.com. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
21. "Twitter / JoeyEssex_: Very excited to announce that". Twitter.com. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
22. "Joey Essex poses with two-tone black and pink suit – pictures – The Only Way Is Essex News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
23. "Nice and thick: Joey Essex's new cup-a-soup advert". The Guardian. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
24. "Who is Joey Essex and what's his net worth? Former TOWIE star whose mum died when he was 10". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
25. Martin, Laura (3 January 2014). "Joey Essex and Amy Willerton should have been together forever". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
26. Greenwood, Carl (9 March 2014). "Joey Essex and Sam Faiers are back together the former TOWIE star says". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
27. Bagwell, Matt (27 June 2012). "Joey Essex Attacked And Robbed By Armed Men Posing As 'TOWIE' Fans". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
28. Ambassadors and Advisors, Child Bereavement UK.
29. "Joey Essex: Grief and Me" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
30. "Joey Essex reunites with TOWIE pal after debuting dramatic transformation". uk.style.yahoo.com. 10 April 2024.
31. "Joey Essex". IMDb. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
32. Five Star Hotel (TV Series 2018) - IMDb. Retrieved 5 June 2024 – via www.imdb.com.
33. "Dancing on Ice". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
34. "'The Only Way Is Essex's Joey Essex, Sam Faiers for 'Million Pound Drop'". Digital Spy. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
35. "Joey Essex, Kym Marsh to face The Cube next month – TV News". Digital Spy. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
36. "The Cube Episode 1 | presscentre". itv.com. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.

Bibliography

• Essex, Joey (2014). Being Reem (first ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-444794-328.

External links

• Joey Essex at IMDb