TOWIE’S James Argent looked slimmer than ever as he opened up on the real reason his best mate Joey Essex has entered Love Island.
The reality TV star, 33, is the first ever celebrity on the ITV2 matchmaking series, with Arg admitting he finds Joey’s appearance on another hit programme “hilarious.”
Arg, 36, who lost 14 stone two years ago, showcased his toned new look as he appeared on the Good Morning Britain sofa on Monday.
He wore a blue and white patterned shirt and swept his brunette locks back as he gave his take on his pal to ITV show anchors Susanna Reid, 53, and Ed Balls, 57.
Arg, who is also single, explained how Joey was after a “deep and meaningful” connection.
He said: “You compare it to the real world and celebrities want to find love, sometimes they don’t want to find love with other celebrities, they want to find it with real people.”
He added: “I don’t think Joey necessarily finds it hard to find a woman, like myself, there’s a time when you want to find something deep and meaningful.
“I feel like in the villa he’ll have potentially the opportunity to find someone.”
As Ed questioned that line of thinking, Arg admitted the real reason Celebs Go Dating alumni Joey was on the show.
The Arg Band frontman said: “He has done a lot of other reality dating shows so he may as well go on this one.
“He is looking for love – that’s the truth.
“The truth of the matter is he genuinely does want to meet someone.
“And he is looking for love, so why not give it a go.”
Joey is currently seeing sparks fly with make-up artist Samantha Kenny, 27, on the ITV2 series.
NUMBERS GAME
Yet the cheeky chap faced a recent backlash when fans called out his age gap compared to other contestants in the villa.
What will Joey Essex bring to Love Island?
By Beth Allcock, Showbiz and TV reporter
JOEY Essex left Love Island fans gobsmacked after his arrival in the Love Island villa – but what can we expect from the sizzling bombshell?
The former TOWIE star is Love Island’s first-ever celebrity contestant and has certainly brought the drama in the first episode.
Yet the reality TV stalwart, 33, who has featured on everything from Dancing On Ice to Celebs Go Dating, also showcased a hot new look.
He strolled into the villa with his fresh close-cut hairstyle and ripped abs on full display as he declared himself the ‘King of Essex’ – and it’s this cheeky chap attitude fans can certainly expect in the Mallorca villa.
Joey’s likely to be at the heart of the action in the villa, with his wicked sense of humour and Essex charm bound to shake up the partnerships of his co-stars.
His pal and former Love Island All Stars contestant Georgia Harrison, 29, confirms he’ll liven up proceedings, admitting he’ll be “so jokes.”
Yet he’s no stranger to juggling the attention of a slew of stunning females – so he’ll likely fit right in to Love Island life.
On Celebs Go Dating in 2021 Joey threw the series into chaos as he dating two women at the same time.
He previously exclusively told us he’s “really picky” when it comes to finding the right girl – so he might be grafting hard and involved in a few coupling up switch-ups.
Meanwhile, he insisted he can also “kick back” and “relax” when it comes to female attention – so some of the sexy stars might feel snubbed.
He told us: “I’m quite held back. I don’t just let girls come to me like that, do you know what I mean?
“I can’t say the right words in a nice way, but basically what I’m I’m trying to say is I just don’t get with every girl, basically!”
He added: “People are realising that I’m more picky than normal. There’ll be one little thing that I won’t like and then I’ll just be completely turned off.
“Not put off, but I’ll just know she ain’t for me.”
Love Island continues on ITV2.
Some fans even threatened to call broadcasting watchdog Ofcom after he locked lips with bombshell Uma Jammeh, 23, who is 10 years his junior.
After his antics were called “creepy” a TV insider defended Joey’s position on the show and told MailOnline: “Joey is older than the normal cast but he doesn’t necessarily act or seem 33.”
NEW LOOK
Meanwhile, although he was focussed on talking about Joey’s quest for love, Arg cut an impressive figure on-screen himself.
In April 2021, the reality star, who until recently was dating Stella Turian, had life-saving gastric sleeve surgery and lost 13st.
He used to weight in at 27 stone.
He also successfully battled a seven-year cocaine addition which saw him suffer two near-fatal overdoses at home and left with zero cash in the bank.
And in 2021, he exclusively told us he was set to undergo lifesaving stomach surgery after doctors warned him: “Lose weight or die.”
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, James said: “This is the first time in my life that I like the way I look too – I don’t feel ugly anymore – I’m content and happy with my appearance.
“The only problem now is I’ve lost a little bit too much weight and I need to put on half a stone.”
