More Josh Info

Think back in time. What was Josh aged 14 like?

I’d curtains in my hair and I was a birrova stud – or so I thought!

What were your summers like?

I’d go on family holidays or play footie in the park. It was cool, there was a big group of us, mixed boys and girls.

And in the evenings?

At night we’d have evenings in, empty houses, with someone being sick in the corner. Me!

Where was the best place to meet girls?

Nowhere! From 12 to 14 we went to under 18 nights and snog everyone there! I didn’t go on a date til I could drive, when I was 17.

Ooh! Was the first date fun?

No, awkward! She was nice but dating is horrible! You’ve gotta do it to get to know someone!

Were you clever at school?

When I was younger, I was a little brute and a brat. But then I got my head down and worked. I had a lugh but hated school!

What did yer careers bod say?

She suggested bricklaying! I was as cheeky as the devil then, a typical essex boy. My teachers knew what I wanted to do.

So what got you into showbiz?

I’ve been performing since I was six – tv stuff and kid modelling. I was an extra on Grange Hill and The Bill – top experience!

How did ya earn pocket money?

I worked on a delivery van, for the company my mum works for. I was lugging boxes – 20 quid a day!

After school, what did ya do?

I worked at Ted Baker! I matched zips to garments for the designers. I worked in an Italien coffee shop too.

Were you good at saving cash?

I spent it, quick! But it was cool coz I paid for things myself.

You’re on pop star money now?

No, we get paid hardly anything! We budget out of our advance. We’ll owe the record company for years, I reckon!

But you’ve got posh clothes!

We borrow stuff for photos! Otherwise I shop in Hennes. These are Hennes jeans!

A holiday to Rhodes resulted in a major medical drama for Josh from Triple 8!

 “When I was 18, I went on holiday for a week with my mate Gary to the Greek island of Rhodes. I’d been feeling a bit fluey before we went, but I decided to go anyway. There was no way I was missing out on my holiday!”

“We went on a pretty big bender on the second night, which obviously didn’t help things, but then on the fourth night, my throat got really sore. It quickly got worse and for the last few days of the holiday, I couldn’t even get out of bed and I couldn’t eat or drink anything at all.”

“I’ve never felt pain like it. I was up all night because it was so hot and we didn’t have any air conditioning in the apartment. So the next day I went to see a Greek doctor, and she told me my glands were swollen and my throat had virtually closed up.”

“She gave me some antibiotics which I started to take, but they made me vomit. I was also feeling really weak because I wasn’t able to eat anything.”

Scary

“The night before we came home, I phoned my mum and I couldn’t stop crying. I can’t even describe the pain  I felt on the flight home. I could hardly move. I went to the plane toilet and I must have passed out.”

“I don’t know how long I’d been there, but when I woke up, Gary and a stewardess were banging on the door. I didn’t think I was going to die or anything but it was really scary.”

“When we arrived in London, my mum was there at the airport ready to take me to our doctor. I was so pleased to see her, I almost cried. I didn’t realise it then, but the worse was still to come.”

“When I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, my body started twitching. I think it was a reaction to the pain I was in. the doctor prescribed me more medication and told me to go home and rest.”

“But when I woke up the next day I felt even worse than I had before and I’d actually turned green! I hadn’t been able to eat anything for five days and my mum said I looked a state.”

 Wheelchair

“Mum had to literally carry me to the car and she took me to the local hospital’s accident and emergency unit. The minute the doctor saw me, he admitted me to the ward. ‘ How on earth have you not been admitted until now?’ he asked.”

“They took me in a wheelchair to a different part of the hospital and put me in a bed, and put me on two drips straight away – glucose and painkiller. I felt better immediately.”

“Nurses did blood tests on me and the next day, the doctors came round and told me I had glandular fever. I didn’t know too much about it and didn’t think it sounded bad. But I now know it’s really serious and can affect your liver and stay in your body for the rest of your life.”

“The doctors told me I’d have to stay in hospital until I was strong enough to eat. It was horrible being in hospital. But luckily I had my own private room in the ward.”

“On my fourth day in hospital, I finally managed to eat something – porridge and custard – so they let me go home the following day.”

Energy

“It took me a couple of weeks of total rest at home before I was eventually fit enough to return to my job at the Ted Baker office. I’d lost about half a stone of weight but I gradually got my energy back.”

“If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have gone on holiday when I was ill – I’d definitely stayed at home! I’ve taken much better care of my health since then because I never want to feel like that again.”