THE grandmother of a former soap star has called on East Anglia to support him after he signed up for I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

THE grandmother of a former soap star has called on East Anglia to support him after he signed up for I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

Ex-EastEnders actor Joe Swash will be swapping Walford for Down Under after flying out to Australia for the hit reality series, which starts on Sunday.

While Swash will be preparing to live with spiders and snakes and eat the unthinkable, his grandmother, Francis O'Connor, predicted that he would be a hit with his female cohabitants in the jungle.

Mrs O'Connor, who lives in Thetford, said: “I think Joe will be a hit on the show as he is a very pleasant, nice lad who is easy to get on with.

“I am sure he will be popular with the female audience and those in the jungle as he is a good looking boy. I don't know what the appeal of the programme is to him as he had to keep the fact he was going to himself.

“I know he is looking forward to it although I don't think he is very good with bugs. I have seen the show before and I am looking forward to seeing him on it.”

Swash, 26, who was popular EastEnders character Mickey Miller alongside his sister Shana who played his screen sibling Demi, flew out on Monday morning.

In October 2005, Swash, who has a young son, was rushed to hospital after he was diagnosed with potentially fatal meningitis. But he battled back to full health and returned to the popular soap before leaving in February.

His jungle antics - which could include jumping out of helicopters and eating fish eyeballs and kangaroo testicles - will be cheered on by his large family including mother, Kiffy Swash , who went to St Benedict's School in Bury St Edmunds.

Other stars joining Swash in the jungle include tennis ace Martina Navratilova, MP-turned-presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk, ex-Blue singer Simon Webbe and former That's Life host Esther Rantzen.