Joey's secret pain

Reality star Joey Essex opens up about his mother’s death

- HANNAH DAVIES, NATASHA HOLT, IAN MACEWAN

Joey Essex got his big break in The Only Way Is Essex when he was 20, and he’s since become a reality TV regular in shows such as Splash!, The Jump and I’m a Celebrity…

But behind the flashy clothes and jokey, self-deprecating personality that helped make him a household name was a traumatised young man still grieving the loss of his mum, Tina, who died when he was 10.