Joe Swash left red-faced after cheeky Christmas prank

Joe Swash has been getting into the festive spirit with his kids and wife, Stacey Solomon, as they play Christmas pranks

Joe Swash has had a whirlwind December, juggling his return to EastEnders with being the target of his wife, Stacey Solomon's, latest pranks.

The 42 year old soap actor made a comeback to EastEnders's Albert Square as Mickey Miller to mark the show's 40th anniversary, making his first appearance in 13 years.

While he was busy saving Bridge Street Market on-screen, his wife was up to mischief at home. Joe shared: "Just today, I woke up and my toenails were painted green and my fingernails painted yellow."

"I've been getting petrol, buying stuff and walking around with this luminous green nail polish on my hand,." he added.

But that's nothing compared to her frozen pea prank. "She woke me up at half five in the morning, so I was shocked," he said. "Before the kids, she'd stuck my hand in a bowl of water and chucked a load of peas all over me in bed."

"And the idea was to make it look like I had pee'd myself, but she just chucked a load of frozen peas on me". However, the father-of-six isn't immune to a bit of mischief himself. He's been orchestrating hilarious Elf on the Shelf antics with the kids.

For one stunt, he used a standard sized biscuit and a mini one to make it appear as if the elves had shrunk the popular snack. "I even got on my knees with shoes on them and pretended the elf had shrunk me too. The kids loved it!"

Underlining his cheeky side, Joe has been including Jammie Dodgers in Elf On The Shelf stunts as part of the biscuit brand's campaign, to impress the children - but admits Stacey is the creative genius behind the ideas.

Meanwhile, his return to EastEnders involved him posing nude for a charity calendar organised by Mo and Kim a detail that took him aback. "They asked me whether I wanted to go back to be one of these legendary characters to celebrate the 40th anniversary," he said.

"I was just like, 'oh yeah, I think I'll do that'. It wasn't until we got there, and I got the script and thought 'oh, I've got to get naked!"

"I've never looked so dad-like in all my life, so it probably wasn't a good time to get naked either," he added.

Fans are already clamouring for Mickey Miller to make a permanent return, and Joe confesses he's tempted. "I love it there. I really enjoyed going back."

But before anything he said he'd need to make sure it worked for him and his family: "I think if it worked for my family and stuff like that, it would definitely be something that I'd have to consider strongly, because I have such fond memories of the place."

For now, though, it appears Joe is content playing the joker in Stacey's chaotic Christmas.