Watch the moment Joe Swash strips naked for calendar shoot as Mickey Miller in EastEnders
JOE Swash thrilled EastEnders fans with a naked Christmas calendar shoot as Mickey Miller in Albert Square.
Mickey shocked fans with a surprise return to EastEnders last night as Joe Swash reprised his iconic role 13 years after his last appearance on the soap.
He reconnected with his former friends, such as Mo Harris (Laila Morse), Alife Moon (Shane Richie), Kim Fox (Tameka Empson), Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace).
Mickey showed off his success revealing he runs a chain of BnBs called Miller's Villas.
As he told Mo about his family's venture he revealed he'd returned after hearing about the possible closure of Bridge Street market.
He then donated generously to the fund to save the market and offer one if his "gaffs" for the raffle..
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In a twist, he also stepped in to help Mo by taking photos for the Walford lads' fundraising calendar after the original snapper failed to show.
But as he stepped in to help, Kim noticed Mo was missing a man for the December page of the calendar.
This prompted Mo to say: Don't worry, I know just the man" as she eyed up Mickey.
Mickey stripped naked right in the middle of Albert Square for the calendar shoot, covering himself with just a present and a face mask.
But he was left fuming with Kim when he learned she had posted some pictures of him online, and demanded her to take them down.
However, after a phone call from his mum, Mickey was thrilled to hear he has bookings up to Christmas 2026 thanks to the saucy pics.
Mickey then bid an emotional goodbye to Walford, expressing heartfelt gratitude to Mo for all her support during his younger years.
EastEnders fans know that Joe made his debut as Mickey Miller in 2003.
He quickly became a fan favourite, and then the soap introduced his family.
The Millers became a central force with their involvement in numerous storylines over a four-year period.
Mickey was written out of the BBC soap in 2008, but made a brief return in 2011 for a few episodes as part of his brother Darren's exit.
Forgotten soap storylines
The nation's soaps have had many gripping storylines play out over the years. However, some plots proved to be far less memorable. Here are some forgotten stories from Weatherfield, Walford and more...
- Ken and Audrey's romance (2015): After the death of wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), Coronation Street original Ken Barlow (William Roache) started to move on in his life. He started to develop a spark with old friend Audrey (Sue Nicholls), with then-Corrie boss saying it would be like "Ross and Rachel". In the end, nothing ever came of it and the two remained platonic pals.
- Beth's bigamy (2016): Despite being happily married to Kirk (Andrew Whyment), a troubling secret came to light about Beth Tinker (Lisa George). It transpired that she had never divorced from her first husband, Darryl (Paul Loughran), father of her son Craig (Colson Smith). Although Craig and Kirk were shocked - and Beth was arrested - the storyline didn't didn't go much further.
- Kat Slater's secret son (2017): Capitalising on the popularity of Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (Shane Richie), the two received a spin-off back in 2017. Titled 'Redwater', it saw the two travel to Ireland where they met long-lost son Luke, now called Dermott Dolan, played by Oisín Stack. Despite the high-tension events during Redwater, Kat seems to have put the experience behind her as Dermott's not been mentioned since.
- Alfie's brain tumour (2015): Having learned in 2015 that he had a brain tumour, Alfie kept the news from Kat until their trip to Ireland. At the time, actor Shane Ritchie revealed fans would see a change in Alfie as he battled the illness. It would appear that at some point after leaving the Square, was told the tumour was non-malignant. By the time Alfie returned in 2022, fans were left confused over what had happened to the storyline.
- Kathy and Buster's affair (2016): In 2016, Walford legend Kathy Beale ( fell into the arms of convict Buster Briggs, played by Karl Howman. Buster was the long-time lover of Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and fathered both her sons - Mick (Danny Dyer) and Dean (Matt Di Angelo). When Buster left, he begged Kathy to join him, but she refused for the sake of her family. Meanwhile Buster didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Shirley before exiting with a broken heart. Fans expected a showdown between the two women, but this never came to pass.
- Jacob's OCD (2016): After his dad, David (Matthew Wolfenden), was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016, Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) developed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This manifested in the form of cleaning. Jacob's OCD made a brief return one year on, after David had another scare after finding a lump. Jacob frantically searched the bins for a “lucky coin” that had accidentally been thrown away. Despite stressful situations - such as being groomed by his teacher Maya, losing his fiancee Leanna to a serial killer, dealing with mum Leyla’s drug addiction, and surviving a stabbing - the condition doesn't appear to have returned.
- Marlon and Charity's fling (2003): Few fans would likely remember few will remember the one-night stand between Charity (Emma Atkins) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) in 2003. The pair slept together when Charity was staying with Marlon while still under suspicion for husband Chris's supposed "murder".
- Alex Browning's revenge plot (2014): Fans expected a confrontation when Dr Browning’s son Alex (Ojan Genc) mer stepmum Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe). After all, Mercedes, with Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring) and Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) had murdered Alex’s dad, double-murderer Dr Paul Browning, after he kidnapped and attacked his new wife. In fact, the soap teased Alex would seek revenge for his father's death upon arriving. However, he instead gave Cindy's son Hilton (his half-brother) a life-saving transplant, became his godfather, and leaving the village soon after.
Since then, Joe has been keen to make a return to the square.
This comes after the former I'm A Celebrity winner recovered from his road accident in his panto dressing room.
Earlier this month, the 42-year-old was involved in a horror crash when his car was hit by a lorry.
The TV personality admitted that he is recovering after the terrifying incident as he took to his Instagram story, writing: "Don't worry, I'm okay!"
He added: "You should have seen the lorry! lol."
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Joe later showed that he was unharmed as he relaxed in his dressing room.
EastEnders airs weeknights at 7:30pm on BBC One and is available to stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.