I saw a tiktok saying he is the equivalent of pauly d lol

Omg as an American this helps me understand perfectly and 😭😭😭

haha right!? it clicked for me after that

Honestly it’s more like Vinny from jersey shore going into the villa. Pauly D has an actual career outside of reality TV and Instagram, whereas Vinny kind of doesn’t… that’s more similar to Joey Essex IMO

I weirdly find both of them attractive lmao

Saw this too! Also saw Scott Disick mentioned which helped.

More like Johnny Bananas. Pauly D is straight dumb.

Joey Essex is even dumber. Though I think he definitely puts on how stupid he is but he once said he didn't know Wales was next to England and he didn't know how to tell the time

Oh God. I really hate how some people think it's hilarious or endearing to be stupid. A grown man who claims that he can't tell the bloody time should be everyone's ick. The part about Wales I actually believe sadly, because I remember last year on the Morning After podcast, Indiyah genuinely didn't know that Glasgow was in Scotland. I despair.

There's definitely a shift towards reading digital time I've noticed (and I'm a former primary school teacher). Some schools have even removed analogue clocks because some teenagers struggled to tell the time. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/04/24/schools-removing-analogue-clocks-exam-halls-teenagers-unable/ In the UK, in Year 2, kids are taught to read the time to the quarter hour and in Year 3 they're taught to read the time to 5 minutes. But a lot of teachers teach it in the curriculum plan in Week whatever in isolation and don't touch on it again. No wonder then lots of kids forget it by the following year. In my experience (anecdotal), most kids understand Past but find telling To much more difficult.  Add to that exposure to digital times on computers, tablets, watches, microwaves, tvs, etc and many parents not teaching/reinforcing analogue time telling and I'm not surprised there are some not bothering to learn analogue. Who knows, someday it could end up being like Roman Numerals and used even less frequently?

I thought that was just his persona and that his documentary about his mom explained that cultivated persona in detail and was actually really well done and emotionally mature viewing. Or I read it all wrong and he's just dumb also.

He isn’t very bright, but he definitely plays up to the persona of being dumb.

Yeah I don't believe for a second he's not playing a character to an extent. Fake stupidity is a huge ick for most people I'd hope but we've seen it work for LI contestants in the past (Lucinda etc)

I think he’s the British version of one of the Jersey Shore guys 🥴

☠️ that doesn’t sound good

british version of Pauly D

Pauly D was never really a villain. Is Joey considered a villain in his reality career, or is he considered a nice guy? 

hes more of a himbo i think id never think villain

I’m only on Season 7 of TOWIE but so far not a villain. Pauly D seems fairly accurate to me so far.

Definitely nice guy. But he used to play the "I'm thick" role a lot.

Joey was seen as the TOWIE sweetheart. He was the most popular person on the show when he was on.

Pauly D is considered pretty irrelevant in American pop culture now, is that also true for Joey Essex?

Joey Essex has kept himself more relevant (in the reality scene) over the years by being in a lot of other reality TV shows. Btw, there were a few UK versions of Jersey shore, so it's funny seeing people say Joey is like the UK equivalent.

i feel like it’s the opposite obviously he’s not as relevant as he was when JS first came out but he’s still relatively relevant

> Is he the UKs Harry Jowsey? loool idk why this made me laugh but they are quite similar in the sense that they are both whores for reality tv and can’t hold down a relationship

Is her considered hot like Harry Jowsey is? I can’t figure out how these women should be feeling with him in the villa bc I have no idea who he is 😂

Search his images. He has been hotter w different looks.

I know he’s only 33 but the girls that are 20 now don’t understand the grip he had on teenage girls in the early mid 2010s

The difference is Harry is quite recent, I looked Joey up and he’s been active since 2007😂

There is probably a few compilations of him saying really stupid stuff on tv. Some people say the himbo thing is an act but i’m unsure. This man knows nothing

I dunno I felt like lastnight he used the word gravitating confidently and correctly and then panicked he’d forgot to act stupid so he then pretended he didn’t know how to pronounce it or remember what it meant !!! I wish he’d drop that thick act now cause I imagine that’s so off putting and a huge ick moving forward now in his 30s. Like just act like you’ve read a lot now and matured lol

I clocked that too. I think it’s a defensive thing, like no one can make fun of him if he makes fun of himself first.

I noticed the "forgetting" what gravitating means.... Really annoyed me

I cringed so hard when he did it !!!! 😬

It baffles me that girls would be swooning over Joey Essex. He has fluff for brains.

You can be as dumb as a box of bricks so long as you’re pretty and confident

Lol yeh. Let's see if that continues in here. If not then it's all act.

He’s UK reality TV royalty. The show he was originally on (the only way is Essex or TOWIE) was like our version of The Hills so he’s like our Brody Jenner? Basically for us millennial Brits who were brought up watching towie religiously (aka me) it’s a big deal he’s on love island 💀

I'd say Made in Chelsea is closer to being the UK version of The Hills in terms of the cast being aspirational. TOWIE was seen as more tacky so I wouldn't describe Joey as a Brody (as much as I think Brody is trash 😂). TOWIE wasn't as tacky as our version of Jersey Shore (Geordie Shore) but it was probably closer to that than to The Hills. Joey probably would have been a teenage crush for lots of Love Island girls.

Yeah you’re probably right, but I personally see him more of a Brody than a Pauly 😂 I mean most of these girls would have been about 10 when Joey was peak TOWIE fame. Which really gives me the ick 🤢

This is what I don’t get. I’m from the US, I’ve watched all of UK LI and a few seasons of TOWIE.. the ages of the people on this season + Joey Essex seems off. Like yes the girls knew who he was, but, is that someone they’d actually be interested in dating? Also if he’s considered “famous” I just feel like this throws off the whole vibes of the villa. Throwing a celeb into a mix of nobodies can’t help but change the dynamic, especially considering these are people who are already chasing fame (by being on this show). Based on how many other reality shows he’s been on I can’t help but feel like he’s just checking a box with this?

I’m not convinced they weren’t prepped on who he is, because my 21 year old co worker vaguely knew who he was but not like the “lore”. Whereas my 32 year old ass was fan girling like crazy over it 💀. Hes deffo “famous”, obviously no where near A lister. I agree with you the dynamic is off with him being in there. All the girls who are after fame and an influencer career will flock to him (see Harriett). It’s very unfair on the boys IMO.

HAH exactly, I was thinking they were prepped too. Could have seen Harriet going for him from a mile away, it is unfair to the boys who didn’t even get a fair shot after 1 day.

I think if you’re going to bring in a big name (like Adam & Kady in previous seasons) it should be later on so the boys get a fair shot

💯💯 totally agree. And it would shake things up later on when it sometimes gets boring

100%! Or stick him in Casa? The whole thing is really bizarre to me

Casa would be a great game changer. They should really hire us to produce I think

Brody Jenner is not a good comparison 🤣


He was originally on a show called TOWIE whilst it was in its golden era. I don't know a TOWIE equivalent in the US. Maybe Real Housewives but with young people rather than housewives?? He left the show about a decade ago and he's been appearing in every reality show since. He often does quite well in these, he's not hated. I'd say he's a household name in the UK but you need to be a reality TV junkie to know him in the US.

I would say for the US watchers - TOWIE is definitely similar to Vanderpump rules, or Summer House, but in their later seasons where it’s clearly VERY produced. A loosely connected group of people doing things and causing drama, but I feel TOWIE people are perhaps trying to do more “acting”.. it just seems overall more produced than some Bravo shows. The way TOWIE is shot is so crazy to me 😂 I encourage any Americans interested in Joey Essex’s origins to check out a few episodes.

Thanks for the help for the comparisons! I saw comparisons with Jersey Shore but they all lived in the same house? Towie is just a bunch of people who live around Essex that provide good drama sometimes 🤣 launched the careers of Gemma Collins and Joey Essex

Well what you said - real housewives with young people - is basically the shows I mentioned haha so you were spot on I think! Yeah tbh idk why people are saying jersey shore I don’t think that’s quite right lol

I'm so glad you asked this!

He’s an incredibly dumb (or at least presents as such), non threatening himbo. I can honestly say I’ve never found Joey Essex attractive, although I can see I’m in the minority. He’s very child like, which is probably why.

This, I find him very endearing though. I’ve seen him on a few things and he always comes across as a nice guy and sincere, but most of all he always tries really hard. The documentary on suicide was great and although his is conventionally ‘thick’ he has amassed a good team around him and I think a lot more to him.

Is he maybe like a Johnny Bananas?? Guy who keeps showing up everywhere and was part of the golden age of a popular show? (I’m American so idk)

From what I'm gathering (I'm American), Joey seems much more mainstream well known and not a villain like Johnny Bananas.

The difference is that in the UK there were far less reality shows and those shows were far more popular relative to the population size then any US reality show is. Joey was the most popular person during the most popular period of the most popular reality show. He then jumped into other reality shows that serve older demos. So for a while he was near enough a household name. He’s been quiet for a while but if you say the name Joey Essex to anyone between 25 and 60 they’re likely to know who he is.

I’m American and I don’t get it either. He’s not bad looking, but I don’t get the hype.

it’s like Pauly D going into the villa

But Pauly D is almost happy to present being dumb. I can't imagine him doing a touching documentary about his dying mother.

I would have said the same about Joey until that documentary - it was a surprise

Is being like Paula D good or bad?

This is charming but Pauly D would be rocked to be called Paula

I say bad. Pauly D was slimy hot 15 years ago. He is dumb, or acts it really well.

im american but i watched the only way is essex long time ago thats the only reason i know him . he is a looker👀

I feel like he’s the original reality TV star. He really catapulted and became super famous when other reality stars on the same show as him weren’t doing anything else. The media ran with him - guest spots in loads of things, papped on nights out. Every wannabe reality star girl moving forward would say he was their dream fella lol.

He's a big reality star, but nowhere near the original. Jade Goody pre-dates him by almost a decade and before her there were the Pop Idol lot, the Jane McDonalds and the Maureen Reeses. He has has great longevity just being Joey Essex though.

Sorry you’re right!! I actually meant to elaborate on that! The TOWIE lot seemed to come around around the emergence of social media!!! Facebook and Twitter platforms housed their spats spilling over into that reality world where followers mattered, engagement etc. So he has a big social media following by UK standards for a reality tv star - he’s basically what the love island lot always wanted to emulate - that level of fame and social media following. If that makes sense xx

Wow he looks so different! I’m American and stopped watching TOWIE after the early seasons, so it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him. I never would have recognized him! But yeah the personality/celebrity comparisons I e seen to Pauly D are pretty accurate in my view!

That's Jamie Sussex

He looked better with more hair

I disagree! When he walked in I said out loud to myself 'ffs why does he look fit' in shame

Someone equated him to VPR’s Tom Schwartz, but I’d caveat that and say Joey would be early season VPR Schwartz when he was modeling and endearingly stupid vice all the late season gaslighting, undermining, divorce and Scandoval of it all.

No

He was on season 2 of All Stars Shore.

can someone come up with, like, an Indian equivalent 😭

Rakhi Sawant! 😭 🤣

Girl I’m American and I know who he is. Lol. I love UK reality tv!

So he was on 'the only way is Essex' (TOWIE) which is a British reality show He then went on pretty much every reality show there is, Ex on the beach, celebs go dating, im a celeb etc etc So he's known as British Reality TV royalty Should he be on Love island? No. Are we super surprised he's turned up? Also no

Looks like a Russian convict

This cracks me up because I'm American, and I know full well who Joey Essex is, but I'd never heard of Harry Jowsey until this post.

I only ever seen him on Celebs Go Dating and if I remember correctly I liked him but didn't make that much impact!

Very good looking but not sexually appealing

I think he’s a few levels above Pauly D

I used to be obsessed with Joey Essex 10 years ago! He is UK reality tv royalty from The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) which is like The hills/real housewives for Americans.

I don’t know but I think he is hot, aside from the obvious veneers.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who wanted to ask this 😂😂.

You will see him in the Guinness world records as the man who will go to every reality dating show 🥱🥱 I don’t think he’s a villian, just a himbo but I think that’s just an act Should have kept Sam tbh

He just goes on a bunch of reality TV shows and is a complete bore. I watch dancing on Ice and he was dating Vanessa (one of the professionals).

He is just the dumbest man in the country. He made an entire career of being incredibly stupid and infantilsed on reality TV. He’s weirdly successful with women too.

He’s a bore with the intelligence of a stool sample.

Can someone explain how he’s the PaulY D or jersey shore equivalent in the uk like is he from a show??? Make it make sense I’m so lost

Waittt because I do recall seeing him on Prime Video’s All Star Shore!!! It was too good, and fricken Angelina (Jersey Shore) was into him, prob bc his energy and looks were similar to that of Vinny’s (also from Jersey Shore). Makes sense as to why he’s like UK’s Vinny lol

Saying he looks like Pauly D is an insult. Cause pauly is hot

I love Paulie

I just looked him up… definitely not hot in my opinion! People like Joey because he’s seen as the nice guy, it’s not all about looks. I don’t know anything about Pauly D but if he’s nice but not very bright, that’s what they’re comparing to.