Is I’m a Celebrity’s Owen Warner the new Joey Essex? Hollyoaks actor's innocence reminds us of TOWIE star

The world of television and show business is in dire need of Owen Warner. Some may say this is somewhat a dramatic statement to make, but it is one that I firmly believe is true.

Owen Warner rightly deserved to be named the runner up in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity for a number of reasons. Firstly, he seems a thoroughly ‘nice’ man, a rarity in the world of show business today.

There was genuine affection towards Owen from all of his teammates, particularly from the ‘Queen of the Jungle’ herself, Jill Scott. “If Owen was to win King of the Jungle or if I was to win Queen of the Jungle, there’s no one I would rather be sat here with so today is just going to be a great day regardless,” she said.

Unlike many of his campmates, Owen as he rightly pointed out in the final, is at the start of his career and naturally can’t compete when it comes to his experience of life. However, this is one of his big positives.

Owen’s innocence and slight naivety is refreshing and deeply endearing. “I was at the beginning of my journey, and I was comparing myself, but I can’t do that and I’ve got to live my own journey,” he revealed. “Realising that has made me comfortable in myself,” he said.

It is this innocence that has rightly resulted in Owen being compared to Joey Essex. There are some obvious similarities. One viewer took to Twitter earlier on in the show to say: “2022s version of Joey Essex and the classic ‘I can’t tell the time or tie my shoelaces.’

There are many Owen ‘Joey Essexisms’ to recount during the show. How can one forget when he poked his eye on purpose to see what it felt like?

Or the infamous blunder he made while talking to former England rugby star Mike Tindall about his wife Zara? He genuinely seemed to have no idea who she was and asked Mike: “Is she Australian?” Mike of course had to genuinely attempt to keep a straight face before simply replying, “No.”

Although at the time it felt like the viewers were laughing at Owen for these gaffes, I believe they actually contributed to his growing popularity as many started to see him as more ‘endearing’ rather than ‘irritating.’

If Owen does follow in the footsteps of Joey Essex, he can be assured that further success is only around the corner. Joey is believed to have an estimated fortune of £6m thanks to his appearance in many TV shows.

After netting a reported £60K for appearing in ‘I’m A Celebrity,’ Joey went on to earn £250K for starring in The Jump in 2015. He has also gone on to star in Celebs Go Dating, Celebrity Masterchef and his own show called ’Educating Joey Essex.’

I am sure Owen will be happy to accept the Joey Essex comparison if he has the ability to match or even eclipse his success in the future.