Uncontrollable burping and being reem: Joey Essex’s cringiest TV moments

I think we would all consider Joey Essex a national treasure, despite having some of the most cringe moments to ever air on TV. He seems to have appeared on every game show, reality drama and, more recently, ITV’s mandatory viewing, Love Island. If you couldn’t escape him before, now he’s on your screen from 9pm every single evening.

Last night’s episode pushed many viewers over the edge with many claiming to have gotten the ick after his rapping in the infamous talent show. Nobody was impressed, bless him, but this isn’t the first time he’s made the public viscerally cringe on live TV. Here’s a roundup of all Joey’s most cringey moments: Brace yourself.

When his first date wouldn’t stop burping

If you can’t remember Joey’s gassy date on E4’s Celebs Go Dating, I’m sorry to bring it up again. Poor Joey sat through an awkward first date when his fellow star, Flo, wouldn’t stop burping. He was actually really sweet about it and tried to pat her back, but he told the cameras that “she burped like a trucker”. Safe to say there wasn’t a second date there.

When he was a mermaid

I genuinely don’t know why there isn’t more footage of this, but when this iconic video came across my for you page, I couldn’t stop replaying it. Young Joey really was an enigma to most of us, and this definitely made me laugh more than it did cringe.

His disbelief at being rated low: ‘Seven and a half? Is she having a bubble?’

Via E4

Joey was not pleased while on a date on the iconic show, Celebs Go Dating. He originally sang his date’s praises after she had assumed The Only Way Is Essex was named after Joey, but was then instantly disgusted to learn the girl only rated her a seven and a half on the looks scale. Poor Joey, but his attitude was enough to give me the ick.

When he thought London was a country

On Celebrity Juice, he was asked “which country borders Wales?” to which he responded “London.” He had so much confidence in that answer. It doesn’t help that immediately after, he was asked how many sides a square has, and answered “six.” Some watchers might have found this endearing, but it was just too much for me to handle.

When he thought there was a dragon in the jungle on I’m a Celeb

Via ITV

Joey was great entertainment during the 13th season of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity series, but his most notable moment has to be when he was crossing the bridge back to camp and panicked at the sighting of a lizard, which he identified as a dragon. You also can’t forget that his fellow stars taught him to read an analog clock that day. What a huge moment for him.

His revolutionary shoe theory

Via ITV

If you cast your minds back to his TOWIE days, you may remember a particularly amusing scene in which Joey debated whether to buy a pair of shoes two sizes smaller so that they wouldn’t crease, and then appeared shocked when he found out that “no one does that.” He claimed buying the correct size made your feet look “flat and dumpy”, instead of “tall and ream”, and who can argue with that logic?

And of course, this questionable rap

Via Netflix

What can I say about this rap that Joey didn’t already say? He nailed the look: Backwards baseball cap, sunglasses that look like the ones you can buy for three euros on holiday, and a blinding gold chain – true Joey Essex fashion. At least he’s trying to stay down with the kids I guess.

Honourable mention – Reem

I couldn’t make a Joey Essex article without bringing up this iconic tune. If you thought Joey Essex saved his cringe moments for TV, you’re wrong. I strongly suggest educating yourself by listening to Reem in the TikTok below: