Joey Essex warms up for Dapper Laughs fight

Three years ago, Joey Essex tried to manifest his dream of continuing his family boxing heritage by writing his own homemade contract.

The 36-year-old had already found fame through ITV’s The Only Way is Essex and had travelled the world for Channel 4’s Educating Joey Essex.

But climbing into the ring was the new ambition, which he fulfilled in August 2025 when he fought Portuguese influencer Joao Barbosa.

Essex returns to screens when he faces comedian Daniel O’Reilly, aka Dapper Laughs, on Saturday evening for his second fight.

Essex, from Chigwell, dreamt of joining the Misfits sports promotion company when he wrote himself the contract one morning in 2023.

“Did I write that I was going to be headlining a show? No, I didn’t write that. So I’ve actually gone past my dreams,” he told the BBC.

“My family are quite huge in boxing, it kind of stems in my blood. So kind of makes sense for me, with my name, to be involved.”