‘It Will Be Fun Picking An Engagement Ring!'

Joe Swash chats to new about his wedding plans with partner Stacey Solomon, reassuring the kids during lockdown and how the death of his old pal Caroline Flack hit him hard

- Rhona Mercer

It will come as no surprise to new readers that Joe Swash is just as funny, endearing, open and down-to-earth in real life as he is on the telly.

We are officially here to talk to him (over Zoom, obvs) about a Christmas campaign he’s fronting for Buyagift, encouraging people to give unwanted gifts to charity. But it isn’t long before we veer off onto other topics, such as his anxiety over Covid-19, his desire for another baby with partner of five years Stacey Solomon, and his continuing sadness over the death of his good friend Caroline Flack in February.

One of the great things about 38-year-old Joe (or Swashy as he’s affectionately known) is that he can be entertaining and hilarious one minute and serious and thoughtful the next. He tells us that, contrary to what Stacey, 31, may think, he’s actually a domestic god who loves hoovering and ironing. Who knew?

Here, Joe, who’s dad to Harry, 13, and Rex, 18 months, plus stepdad to Stacey’s sons, Zach, 12, and Leighton, eight, chats to us about their family Christmas traditions and why he won’t let Stacey choose her own engagement ring…

Christmas is coming and we know Stacey loves to decorate your home. Will she go crazy?

Stacey is like a professional crafter. And for a professional crafter Christmas is like the best time of the year. So she’s got the biggest excuse to just go crazy. I look at her sometimes and know she’s thinking about decorations. She’s thinking, “What am I going to do?”

Is she basically Mrs Christmas?

She is. She loves it. It’s all because she just wants the kids to have a nice time. She usually pulls it off nicely.