Love Island fans shocked to find out how many reality shows Joey Essex has been on

The arrival of Joey Essex in the love island Villa shocked fans last night and now has them looking back on his storied TV history.

The 33-year-old reality TV veteran cut his teeth on ITV The only way is Essex (TOWIE) in 2011, when he was just 20 years old.

At that time, he was introduced as a supporting actor during the second season, but his popularity was immediate and by the time the third season aired, he was part of the main cast.

He went on to deliver a number of iconic reality TV moments, including bringing the word “reem” into everyone’s vocabulary in 2012.

If you forgot, that was Joey’s own word for cool or attractive. Maybe it’s due to a return?

Eventually, Joey left TOWIE in 2013, but that was just the start of his illustrious career as a TV personality.

The same year he finished his stint on TOWIE, Joey went on to star in Splash!, which showed a series of celebrities learning to dive, and I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!

Joey then proved he wasn’t a one-and-done pony and rather than sign up for another show as a cast member, he starred in his own TV show.

Educating Joey Essex made fun of Joey’s public image as not being the sharpest tool in the box – if you know what I mean.

The show ran for two seasons on ITV and showed Joey knowledge about football, fashion, aliens and the general election.

A quick look at Joey’s Wikipedia page shows that he hasn’t been out of reality TV work for a single year since his TOWIE debut in 2011.

It is really impressive.

His next concerts included Celebrities meet peopleCelebrity MasterChef, Celebrity Ex on the beach, Celebrity SAS: who dares to win and *deep breath* Celebrities go to meetings: the mansion.

Then other things followed, including a documentary he presented about losing his mother to suicide when he was just 10 years old, Joey Essex: Grief and Me.

So it’s safe to say that Joey has earned his place as a respected television personality and become a household name.

To date, he’s been on 17 reality shows – and that’s not counting his guest appearances.

Its current appearance on love island East a move no one saw coming — he’s the show’s first-ever celebrity bombshell, after all.

And while many are excited to have Joey back on our screens, many are amazed at how well he’s managed to fit in over the past 13 years.

One person tweeted: “Joey Essex’s agent never stops… he’s literally been on every reality show in the UK.”

Another said: “Joey Essex collects reality TV shows like infinite rings.”

A third chimed in: “Not gonna lie, I’m secretly excited about what Joey Essex is going to come out with for the duration of his stay. What comes out of this guy’s mouth is comedy gold.”

We just can’t wait to see what manages to sneak in next.

Featured image credit: ITV

Topics: Love Island, Reality TV