Joseph Swash (born 20 January 1982 in Islington, London) is an English presenter and actor. He once played Mickey Miller in the British television soap opera EastEnders. He is the older brother of Shana Swash, who played his on-screen younger sister Demi Miller until July 2006. He also won the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! on 5 December 2008. He reprised his role as Mickey Miller for 2 episodes in order to coincide with his on-screen brother's departure.

Career[link]

Swash studied at Highbury Grove School in Islington, and attended Anna Scher Theatre School on the advice of his mother's friend, actress Linda Robson. Swash attended the school with Natalie Cassidy, James Alexandrou and Brooke Kinsella, with whom he later worked in the soap EastEnders.^[1]

When Swash was seven, he made his first TV appearance in an Andrex advertisement, and at the age of eleven he was cast in the movie The Adventures of Pinocchio,as The Fighting boy with Dawn French and Griff Rhys Jones and also co starring along side Jonathan Taylor Thomas Richard Claxton and Correy Carrier his character in it was a small part being one the boys who gets turned into a donkey from going on a Roller Coaster his character is known as Fighting Boy because he gets into a fight with Lampwick over a gun.^[1] He made minor appearances in several television series such as Casualty, The South Bank Show, The Bill and Nickelodeon's LOL: Laugh Out Loud. In 2002, Joe Swash appeared as a participant in the ITV documentary Club Reps,^[2] and on 8 November 2008 Joe and his family appeared in Family Fortunes. He also appeared with his sister on the CITV Saturday morning show Ministry Of Mayhem.

He was about to give up on the idea of becoming an actor when he won a role in BBC's EastEnders. He was cast as Mickey Miller and made his first appearance in EastEnders in April 2003 as a recurring character. Owing to a positive viewer reception, producer Louise Berridge turned Mickey into a regular character, and his on-screen family arrived a year later, including Mickey's little sister Demi, who was played by Swash's real sister, Shana.^[1] His son, Harry Swash, also appeared in the soap as his niece Summer Swann for a minimal period. On 26 February 2008, it was announced that Joe Swash, along with the actor who plays his stepfather, David Spinx, were being written out of EastEnders in a "big explosive storyline". He made his final appearance in July 2008. Since the announcement of his departure, Swash has been critical of the direction producers took with his character. He has blamed his three-month screen absence in 2005 (due to meningitis) for Mickey becoming little more than "light-relief".^[3] However, he has expressed an interest in returning.^[4] He later reprised his role of Mickey Miller in early 2011 in order to coincide with his on screen brothers departure from the soap.

Swash has expressed an interest in presenting, as well as appearing in "Brit-flicks".^[3]

In November 2008 Swash entered the Australian jungle to appear in the British reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, which he went on to win. Swash subsequently performed as Buttons in the pantomime Cinderella, at the Central Theatre in Chatham, Medway.

He also appeared on The Weakest Link twice: once in 2006 and once in 2008 on the EastEnders special. He got voted off on both appearances.

In December 2008, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show, and on the 11th January 2009 he appeared during the "Who Knows The Most About The Guest Host" segment on The Sunday Night Project.

In February 2009, Swash, along with TV presenter Tim Vincent, became the Guinness World Record Holder for throwing the most pancakes to a partner as part of a challenge on Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show.

Swash was announced as charity Meningitis UK's patron in April 2009. The disease led to his grandmother Betty's death in 1999.

From September 2009, Swash, along with ex-rugby player Austin Healey will be appearing in the new series of Hole In The Wall as a team captain for Series 2.

Joe took part in a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 26 December 2009, however receiving an injury being forced to quit.

In 2009/2010, Swash, appeared in the pantomime Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in Bristol.

In 2010 he was a team captain on What Do Kids Know? along with Rufus Hound and Sara Cox on Watch. He has also appeared in the celebrity edition of the Cube.

He presented the children's show "Gimme A Break" on the CBBC Channel in 2011.

From 2009, Swash has presented spin off series ' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, NOW!' alongside Caroline Flack and Russell Kane. In 2011, Flack was replaced by Laura Whitmore.

On 5 March 2011, Swash and Caroline Flack participated in Let's Dance for Comic Relief, dancing to My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas. But they were voted out by the panels vote.

As of 2011, after Flack departed I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now, in order to work on commitments on The Xtra Factor, Swash and Flack have now joined together once more on new ITV2 game-show Minute to Win It and BBC kids-take-control show Gimme A Break.

In October 2011 Swash appeared in an episode of The Real Hustle. Later in November 2011, Swash's new show for CBBC, Driving Academy was aired.

On Saturday 12 February 2012 he was a guest in The Magicians. In Spring 2012 he was a panellist on Mad Mad World for ITV

Personal life[link]

Swash's background is a mix of Irish, Scottish and Italian (Swash's great-grandmother, Maria Christina Swash (née Raimo) (1899–1973) was Italian.)^[1] He grew up in Islington in north London. His father Ricky William Swash (1955–1994), a London cab driver, died of a heart attack when Swash was 12, and he and his two younger sisters, Caisie and Shana, were subsequently raised by their mother, Catherine M "Kiffy" (née O'Connor), who had married Ricky (sometimes mistakenly spelt as Riccie or Richky) in 1978. Swash has said that he is particularly close to his youngest sister Shana, as he took on a paternal role towards her following their father's death. He has commented, "Shana's more than just a sister to me. I look out for her. If I go away, I miss her so much. It was hard when my dad died – it was so sudden. Shana was only little so it's been tough for her. We've got a special connection there – we look the same and have the same personality [...] Dad dying made me grow up pretty fast – I've learned a lot from it. And it makes you appreciate your family more."^[1]

Swash was dubbed the "Swashbuckler" by the British press, due to his regular appearances on the London club circuit. He has admitted that he was regularly reprimanded by EastEnders' bosses for his alcohol-fuelled partying.^[3] Swash was forced to take a three month break from EastEnders in 2005 after he contracted meningoencephalitis.^[5] Swash has commented, "I couldn't talk. Half my face was numb and I couldn't get the words out. I was constantly sick and couldn't stand." He spent a fortnight in intensive care and doctors told him they were not sure he would live; however, he recovered with no lasting damage.^[3]

On 16 June 2007, Swash's fiancée, Emma Sophocleous, gave birth to their first child, a boy named Harry Swash.^[6] On 19 January 2008, it was announced the couple had separated, and in December 2008, Swash stated that he was in a relationship with his former EastEnders co-star Kara Tointon, who played his onscreen sister Dawn Swann. In May 2010 it was announced that the two had split due to a lot of arguments.^[7] On 3 November 2009, Swash was declared bankrupt by London's High Court after failing to pay a £20,000 tax bill. Swash's agent Becca Barr said it was a mix-up and the actor is not in financial difficulty.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joe Swash at the Internet Movie Database
• King of the Jungle Joe Swash pledges support to meningitis charity – from Meningitis UK
• Joe Swash profile from Biogs.com

Keith Lemon is a fictional character, portrayed by English comedian Leigh Francis. Lemon is most famous for his comedy panel show Celebrity Juice.

Background[link]

In a 2006 interview, Francis claimed that Lemon is loosely based on his best friend.^[1] Lemon is easily distinguished by his camp demeanour, exaggerated Yorkshire accent, bleached mullet, ginger moustache and fake tan.^[2] According to Leigh Francis, Lemon's background is that of a failed businessman, who was most successful in 1993, when he won the prestigious Businessman of the Year award for his innovative creation, the securi-pole".^[3]

Career[link]

2000-02[link]

Lemon was first portrayed in 2000, on a short lived television programme entitled "Whatever I Want", aired on London Weekend Television. The programme also featured Francis' other two main characters, Avid Merrion, and a human version of The Bear. All three characters were in very early stages of development, and in comparison to Francis' appearances in Bo' Selecta! and beyond, his actions and behaviour remain similar, but are noticeably different to that of the final personalities of the characters. An episode of this programme is available to view on YouTube.

2002-06[link]

Lemon first appeared as a recurring character in the Channel 4 impersonations series Bo' Selecta!, which was created and performed by Francis.^[4] During the show's first series, aired in 2002, he made one appearance, which depicted himself in a trendy wine bar attempting to chat-up Tess Daly. Lemon later appeared in the third series of Bo' Selecta!, where he was introduced in a regular role as the agent of Avid Merrion, the main character, also played by Francis, after Avid gets himself his own television show. Lemon's face was not shown to camera during this series. Lemon also appeared in the popular Bo' Selecta! spin-off A Bear's Tail, which focused entirely on the character of The Bear. In the series, he became the neighbour of the Hennerson family, who adopted The Bear after they ran him over. Lemon developed a friendship with Patsy Kensit, who played the character of Mrs. Hennerson, during the series. Lemon later appeared in the fourth and final series of Bo' Selecta!, which was set in the United States. In this series, he featured in a regular role when he became the American ambassador for his own invention, the securi-pole, and attempted to make American model Fabio the face of his advertising campaign.

2008-09[link]

Following the conclusion of Bo' Selecta!, Lemon re-appeared in his own spin-off series on ITV2, entitled Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour.^[5] The programme depicted Lemon flying to six different countries around the world, in a shark-shaped flight plan, meeting various celebrity guests along the way. The series premiered on March 11, 2008 on ITV2, and pulled in very successful ratings. In August 2008, it was announced that Lemon would return to ITV2 with his own comedy panel game show, Celebrity Juice. The format of the show involves two teams of celebrities, who battle it out to see which team know the most about the past week's news.^[6] The series began airing in September 2008, featuring regular team captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton, as well as regular panellist, Rufus Hound. The series popularised his quotes "Bang Tidy!" and "I'd smash your back doors in!", which first became known during his time on Bo' Selecta!, and also introduced his end-of-episode catchphrase, "If I don't see ya' through week, I'll see ya' through window". The series also featured sketches involving his Bo' Selecta! guises, and also featured a round in which The Bear questioned a mystery celebrity regarding his or her life. The series was successful enough for a second season to be commissioned, however, all references to Bo' Selecta! were ordered to be removed, as they were in copyright breach of Channel 4, who originally aired the series. In October 2008, Lemon made numerous appearances on the Big Brother companion shows Big Brother's Little Brother and Big Brother's Big Mouth, as a celebrity guest discussing the action in the house, and as the host of public phone-in competitions. In February 2009, Lemon appeared as a contestant alongside fellow comedian Paddy McGuinness on the first series of the charity competition Let's Dance for Comic Relief. Their performance of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing made them the runners-up of the series.^[7] Shortly after, the second series of Celebrity Juice premiered. The series featured a selection of big name guests, including Tito Jackson, David Van Day and Coolio.

2010[link]

During March 2010, Lemon made several appearances on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! companion show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here Now!, alongside host Caroline Flack. Shortly after his appearances, the third series of Celebrity Juice began broadcasting. The series featured two special episodes: the Girls Night Out special, and a BBC Radio 1 vs. This Morning special. In July 2010, Lemon began recording a fitness DVD with Australian fitness instructor Deanne Berry. Since being released, the DVD, entitled 'Keith Lemon's Fit', has sold over 50,000 copies. In August 2010, Lemon worked as an agony uncle on daytime television series This Morning, alongside Celebrity Juice colleague Holly Willoughby. In September 2010, the fourth series of Celebrity Juice began broadcasting. The series features several special episodes, including a TV Stars special, an episode dedicated to McFly, an episode dedicated to N-Dubz, an episode dedicated to The X Factor, an episode dedicated to Coronation Street, and an episode dedicated to JLS. The fourth series also revealed further details about Lemon, including his belief that he is the son of Billy Ocean, and that all Irish people should be referred to as a "potato", a quote frequently referred to when discussing Jedward, Louis Walsh or any other Irish personnel. During the year, Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour was released on DVD.

2011[link]

In February 2011, Lemon became the executive producer of This Morning for a week of special episodes, taking over from the absent Karl Newton. During the month, he also appeared as a member of the judging panel on the third series of Let's Dance for Comic Relief. Both series five and six of Celebrity Juice were broadcast during the year. Special episodes during the year included an Up the Duff special, a Pop Music special, an episode dedicated to the Royal Wedding, a Coronation Street vs. Emmerdale special, a Back to School special, a Girl on Girl special, an episode dedicated to Ant & Dec, and an I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! special. The sixth series also introduced another of Lemon's infamous activties, "Motting". In March 2011, Lemon became the co-host of ITV celebrity game show Sing If You Can, alongside singer Stacey Solomon, after original intended host Vernon Kay pulled out.^[8] The series ran for six episodes. In June 2011, Lemon filmed a pilot for a possible ITV prime time series, entitled The Bang Tidy Show. The description of the pilot was as follows: "While there's all the usual celebrity guests from hit series Celebrity Juice, there's also a talking Orangutan, a door that leads to anywhere, audience games and prizes, a supermarket in the future staffed by old celebrities, and you, the audience, can ask Keith anything you want! Each episode will also finish with Keith performing with his celebrity guests."^[9] Although the pilot was not commissioned into a full series, the idea for the latter production Lemonaid stemmed from the pilot. In September 2011, Lemon made his first ever public appearance, when he switched on the Blackpool Illuminations in a special ceremony. On November 21, 2011, the first ever Celebrity Juice DVD was released, entitled Celebrity Juice: Too Hot for TV. During the year, Lemon also promoted Tacheback, a campaign to raise awareness of male cancer.^[10]

2012-present[link]

In Spring 2012, Lemon starred in an episode of Mad Mad World. The seventh series of Celebrity Juice began airing on 9 February 2012. The series has thus far contained five special episodes: the Hunks special, Girls on Top special, Coronation Street vs. EastEnders special, an Irish special, and an upcoming Pop Music special, due to air on 3 May 2012. Thus far, the seventh series has received some of ITV2's highest ratings ever. On 11 February, Lemon featured as one of the three members of the judging panel on the first episode of the fourth series of Let's Dance for Sport Relief. On 14 February, Lemon co-presented the backstage coverage of the 2012 BRIT Awards with Irish television presenter Laura Whitmore. On 18 February, Lemon, Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton were guests on The Jonathan Ross Show, where they gave a candid interview about their time on Celebrity Juice, and also played a pair of studio games with Ross. On 19 March, Lemon fronted a special edition of Celebrity Juice for the Sport Relief telethon, which featured swimmer Mark Foster appearing a special round. On 7 April, Lemon's own six-part Jim'll Fix It style series for ITV, Keith Lemon's Lemonaid premiered. In the series, Lemon travels up and down the country to meet his fans, and solve people's problems using his own tongue-in-cheek manner. Every episode also includes a celebrity guest and a musical performance, as well as studio games in which the audience have the chance to win some prizes. In August 2012, Lemon will release his own feature-length film, openly titled Keith Lemon: The Film. As well as featuring acting performances from Kelly Brook and Verne Troyer, the film will also feature cameo appearances from David Hasselhoff, Gary Barlow, Tinchy Stryder, Jedward and Fearne Cotton.^[11]

Links[link]

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHwROUnlFsg

References[link]

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (January 2011)

Caroline Louise Flack is an English television presenter, known for presenting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! from 2008 to 2010.

On 31 May 2011, it was confirmed that Flack would be co-presenting the eighth series of The Xtra Factor alongside Olly Murs, and would not be returning to present the 2011 series of 'Get Me Out of Here! NOW!.

Career[link]

Flack got her first television break on the sketch show Bo' Selecta! in 2002.^[2] She then went on to present the International Pepsi Chart Show, before moving to Channel 4 where, in 2005, she presented links between videos on E4 Music and co-presented The Games: Live At Trackside on E4 alongside Justin Lee Collins. She also had a regular segment in the video games show When Games Attack in 2005.^[3] A year later, she was a co-presenter on the Saturday morning show TMi alongside Sam and Mark which aired on BBC Two and the CBBC Channel. Subsequently she hosted CBBC show Escape from Scorpion Island together with Reggie Yates.^[4]

In March 2007, Flack hosted the CBBC coverage of Comic Relief does Fame Academy.^[5] She commentated on the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with Paddy O' Connell.^[6] Flack also hosted Big Brother's Big Mouth for Week 5 of the 2008 series. Daily Mirror journalist Rob Leigh noted that "her sharp delivery makes her the best presenter they’ve had on this series".^[7] However, this was not the first time that she was linked to Big Brother. Before the series started, it had been reported that Caroline was Dermot O'Leary's replacement on Big Brother's Little Brother.^[8]