FOR once, Joe Swash is quite happy to let someone else get the girl. The former EastEnders actor, who dated his glamorous co-star, Kara Tointon and revealed that becoming famous earned him a reputation for being “quite naughty”, has enjoyed a reputation as a ladies man.

Now the star of I’m A Celebrity is about to spend Christmas in Somerset where he heads the cast of Cinderella at The Playhouse in Weston.

He says he’s looking forward to playing Buttons and helping Prince Charming ride off into the sunset with the show’s leading lady.

“This is a lovely theatre, so I think it will be a really good experience. I love these kinds of theatres, where it’s not too big and not too small,” he says.

“Panto is a great introduction for kids to go to the theatre and a good way to get families into the Christmas spirit.

“I have been doing panto for the past few years and really enjoy it. It is traditional and something we only really do in this country.”

Joe arrives back in Somerset just days before Cinderella kicks off her glass slipper on December 11 for a month-long run.

He has been busy in Australia, commenting on the jungle escapades of the likes of Lady Colin Campbell and Duncan Bannatyne for the I’m A Celebrity spin off show, Get Me Out of Here Now.

Joe was crowned King of the Jungle back in 2008 after winning viewers over with his happy-go-lucky attitude and friendship with Star Trek’s George Takei.

It was important he said, to keep busy to fight boredom which often caused the biggest rows: “I passed the time collecting wood for the camp which helps avoid conflict.

“You need to do something, because if you’re not doing trials, you’re just stuck in the camp all day, and that’s what breeds hatred and makes you want to kill people.

“It’s a jungle in there," he says. "It’s like a big playground. There are animals, there are dams to be made, and I was younger then, so I was interested in everything. There are so many different characters, you find out about people. I’m quite nosy, so I want to know about people and their lives.”

While a number of other celebrity winners have faded into obscurity, the show won Joe a host of new fans and led to TV executives banging on his door.

He appeared in the popular ITV show, Celebrity Dinner Date and was a team captain in the manic Hole in the Wall.

“I did my first panto after coming out of the jungle and I was terrified. But it’s a good way of breaking the ice. I love it, and am so pleased I get asked back to do it every year.

“I started off as an actor, so obviously doing I’m A Celebrity opened and shut some doors. It’s been difficult to do acting since but I love presenting or doing stuff like this panto.

“I’ve just followed where the work is and at the moment it’s more the jungle-style personality stuff, but I think I’ll get into the acting thing again soon.”

Viewers first fell in love with Joe as happy-go-lucky Mickey Miller in EastEnders. The role came after years of smaller parts and he confesses he almost gave up the business to become a taxi driver.

But when Mickey was finally written out, Joe admits he was uncertain what the future held for him.

“When you leave something like EastEnders, it’s out of your hands what the next step is. You just have to wait and hope for the best. I’m A Celebrity was my way out of it,” he says.

“Even going into the jungle was a risk. You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place because if you do it and come across quite badly and people don’t like you, you definitely won’t work as much again. It’s a risk I had to take and hopefully it worked out quite well.

“Now, instead of people shouting out ‘Micky!’ they shout ‘Joe!’ It has opened up so many doors for me. I’m so grateful to everyone at I’m A Celebrity.”

He says he wouldn’t rule out a return to the BBC soap although he is happy with panto.

“I wouldn’t mind being asked to do Strictly Come Dancing – although as I can’t dance, it would really just be for the entertainment.

“Celebrity Big Brother must be the hardest of all of the reality shows. That would be the most mentally and physically draining. That situation breeds arguments, doesn’t it? It’s designed to bring out the worst in you as well. I don’t think I want people to see the worst in me.”

Away from the small screen, Joe is a doting dad to his son, Harry from his previous relationship with ex fiancée Emma Sophocleous. He loves doing the school run and cooking Harry meals, even though he admits to not being the best cook.

Joe is also involved with a number of charities including the British Heart Foundation. He was only 11 when his dad, Ricky, 39, died from an undiagnosed heart condition, Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).

It is caused by an abnormality in the electrical activity in the cells of the heart and could have claimed his dad’s life at any time.

“It was really traumatic. Dad was always a healthy person. He’d run a half-marathon and was slim,” explains Joe, who had his own health scare with viral meningitis while still in EastEnders.

“It was frightening because it came on so quickly.

“I’d been playing football the night before. I woke up and thought I’d had a stroke because I couldn’t talk or walk. Doctors were asking me questions such as my date of birth but the words just wouldn’t come out.”

Joe was in hospital for two months. “It was touch and go for a while. I was in intensive care for two weeks. It was a hard time for my family and it’s another little chapter in my story.”

Joe is hoping his Playhouse run will be without any more “little chapters” – like the time he revealed more of Buttons than he intended.

“I was doing the panto elsewhere and wearing those old-fashioned trousers where you button them up on the side at the front. The buttons came undone and they fell down – and I had no pants on. It was on the press night.”

This time, Joe promises to keep Buttons buttoned up.