Joe Swash

[faceless]

Killer disease cost me EastEnders job
By SARA NATHAN

EASTENDERS hunk Joe Swash has revealed how his exhausting battle with meningitis left his soap career in tatters. The 26-year-old, starring in his explosive final scenes as Walford’s cheeky Mickey Miller, was told he would be axed from the BBC1 soap after months of suffering lacklustre storylines. In an exclusive interview, Joe also reveals for the first time how his family were told to “prepare for the worst” by worried doctors as he lay unconscious in intensive care. And he tells how he faced another battle after pulling through the deadly disease – learning how to speak again.

Joe slumped into depression due to a combination of illness and being forced off work for three months. Joe says: “My illness had a massive impact on my job. When I came back I couldn’t find my feet. New producers came in and brought in new actors and I got lost down the pecking order. Mickey just became light relief – the joker. That’s all right but I’ve got more ambition. I would have stayed for ages if I had good stuff, but I wasn’t getting the work.”

The stagnant storylines on his return are in contrast to current scenes that have seen Mickey and his family caught in a massive blast at their home. Joe must have thought such glory days would never return when he was rushed to hospital in September 2005.

He says: “Emma, my girlfriend at the time, woke me up but 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.” As well as meningitis, Joe was also diagnosed with encephalitis, swelling of the brain. The young star, who joined EastEnders aged 21, spent two weeks in intensive care. He says quietly: “My mum was told to prepare for the worst. The doctors said they weren’t sure I would pull through.”

Joe was in hospital for six weeks. He admits: “It was so scary. Before, I thought I could do all this mad stuff. But it made me realise life is fragile. I’m just thankful I got out of it with no lasting damage. You hear stories of people losing limbs.” Joe found it tough after leaving hospital, faced with a gruelling rehabilitation regime. He says: “I had to learn everything again. I had to learn coordination and my speech was slurred. It felt like my tongue was too big for my mouth. And I had terrible headaches.”

Despite being off work for three months, Joe didn’t get sick pay from EastEnders. The actors get a guaranteed amount each year then get paid a top-up per episode. Joe adds: “If you’re not working, you have to survive without pay. I had to live on what I’d saved.” Stuck at home, Joe plunged into depression. He admits: “I put on three stone. I kept eating takeaways and playing the computer – I got right chunky. I was most worried I wouldn’t be able to talk again. That’s a pretty big deal if you’re an actor.”

Joe’s mum Kiffy and sisters Caisie and Shana supported him in his darkest times – but being forced to watch EastEnders from home was adding to the agony. He says: “The more time I had off, the more I knew I was missing out. I had a huge storyline with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) and our dad. There was meant to be a big relationship with me and him, but I had to miss all that. Things were passing me by and it was frustrating. New characters were coming in and I was thinking, ‘That character’s like Mickey’.”

When he did eventually return to work, the writing looked like it was on the wall. Despite being reunited with close pals James Alexandrou and Natalie Cassidy, who played Martin and Sonia Fowler, he wasn’t getting decent storylines. He says: “Ever since I came back, I’ve had nothing regular. As an actor you want storylies to stretch yourself. To be fair, I didn't work as much when the Miller family arrived in 2004. When it was just Mickey, I got really good stuff. I was over the moon about the family but producers needed to concentrate on developing their characters and I had to take a back seat.”

Joe found out in February that his contract wasn’t being renewed. But he shrugs and says simply: “My character hadn’t been working out for ages – I kind of worked it out.” The one saving grace for Joe in all this has been his one-year-old son Harry. He wasn’t planned but Joe beams and says: “He’s a little Godsend – he’s so beautiful.”

Joe is no longer with Harry’s mum Emma Sophocleous, 23. The pair had already split when party-planner Emma found she was pregnant, reunited before Harry’s birth in June last year but broke up again in January. They were living together in Islington, North London. Speaking for the first time about the break-up, Joe reveals: “We were arguing and we decided to try and split as amicably as possible. Harry will want that when he’s older – it’s going to be hard enough not having us together anyway. We found we get on better apart than together, we just don’t want Harry to be in an environment where there’s arguing and shouting. If we were going to be good parents we need to be good friends.” Currently single, Joe says he’s not ready for another relationship, adding: “I’ll take my next relationship really slowly. Harry’s my priority.”

Joe fondly remembers the mild panic he felt when he found out the news he was going to be a father – during filming for Pauline Fowler’s funeral. He grins and says: “My first thought was, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to tell my mum!’ I told James and Natalie in our Winnebago, then I had to go back to the set. I must have had a face of sheer horror – it’s probably some of the best acting I’ve ever done!"

Joe first met Emma in his notorious “socialising” days – when he earned the nickname Swashbuckler. He makes no secret that he was regularly rapped by EastEnders bosses for his partying, admitting: “I was 21 and a bit cheeky with a cockney accent. I was a lad about town. I’m glad I’ve done it, so I can tell my kids when I get older. EastEnders understand that you’re young and bound to enjoy yourself – but they pull your reins in if you get a bit wild. I got it out of my system – when I met Emma I was on the verge of calming down.”

But while Joe used to enjoy boozing sessions with pals, he insists he never touched anything harder. He says: “I’ve always loved a good drink, don’t get me wrong – but no drugs.” That brings us to Joe’s old EastEnders mucker James, who was recently caught apparently smoking marijuana at the home of troubled singer Amy Winehouse. But Joe says: “He’s friends with Amy’s hairdresser. He’s young but too sensible for all that. I don’t have any worries about him. People were just shocked because the character he played was so mild-mannered. He’ll be fine.”

With his partying days now firmly behind him, Joe is focused on being a doting dad to little Harry. Just weeks ago, Joe had a tattoo on his hip and stomach, which reads: “Protected and loved from above.” It is a tribute to two people who mean so much to him – his dad Ricky, a London cabbie who died when Joe was 12, and Harry. He says: “It was my dad’s birthday, then Father’s Day, then Harry’s birthday. I did it for them.” Sombrely, he adds: “That’s the thing that gets me the most – that my dad won’t get to see my son. Dad was really gentle. He loved his family, he loved his kids – and I just want to be like him.”

As for the future, Joe says he would love to do some TV and radio presenting. He also has his eye on appearing in Brit flicks with actors like fellow cockney Danny Dyer. He admits: “When you come out of EastEnders there are lots of roads to go down, you just have to choose the right path. But it will be a relief not to be Mickey Miller any more!”

[Skylace]

Thanks for posting this Face. I didn't realize the struggle he had after his illness, but it's really no surprise. I am sorry he is leaving but if he is relieved not to be Mickey anymore, then I am happy for him.

[11antoniacourt]

Thanks for posting this one Face. I think many of us have commented on the Mickey character at one time or another; we all liked him and wondered why the writers didn't do more with him. This post explains a lot. I wish Joe Swash nothing but the best. If he's tired of Mickey then it's okay with me.

[Twirley]

Yeah, he seems like a decent guy. He probably has a better understanding of life and what's most important since his meningitis. I, too, hope he goes on to bigger and better things.

[SpursFan1902]

I had no idea he was so sick. I will be sorry to see him go. I have always liked Mickey.

[eefanincan]

Here's wishing him all the best. Hopefully we'll be seeing him in some other roles -- would be nice to see him doing something other than Mickey Miller.

I've always wondered what happened to his sister. She must be quite the grown up girl now.