Joe Thomas’ private life with Inbetweeners star girlfriend as he joins Celebrity Bear Hunt

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Up Next

Previous Page Next Page

Joe Thomas has faced his fears and risked immense danger in new Netflix reality series Celebrity Bear Hunt, putting himself far out of his comfort zone.

The 41-year-old actor, better known as Simon Cooper in The Inbetweeners – the show where he met his wife Hannah Tointon -, has joined the likes of Lottie Moss, Boris Becker, Mel B and Shirley Ballas in the Holly Willoughby-fronted programme.

It sees 12 celebrities dropped into the Costa Rican jungle, working through terrifying I’m A Celebrity-style challenges to escape Bear Grylls.

Away from their families and the comforts of their daily lives, the stars open up about their vulnerabilities, with Lottie breaking down revealing she almost went to rehab instead of flying to film and sporting legend Boris candidly talking about his time behind bars.

Ahead of the series streaming, Joe spoke to Metro about spending time away from his partner in particular, and how ‘difficult’ it was.

The Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas has taken on Bear Grylls’ Netflix show (Picture: Cat Morley/SOPA Images/Shutterst)

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Up Next

Previous Page Next Page

He told us: ‘I definitely wanted to see if I could do something where I was away from the structures of support in my life, particularly my partner Hannah.

‘I feel like she’s my therapist, basically. I draw a huge amount of support and strength from her so not being able to speak to her was difficult.

‘I’d feel it in the day. I’d feel like, “oh, this is the bit when I’d normally talk to Hannah, and I can’t do it, I just have to be here.”‘

He joined the likes of Kola Bokinni, Mel B, Danny Cipriani, Big Zuu, Holly Willoughby, Bear Grylls, Lottie Moss, Una Healy, Steph McGovern and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (Picture: Cat Morley/SOPA Images/Shutterst) Joe starred on The Inbetweeners with Blake Harrison, James Buckley and Simon Bird (Picture: Eob Photography Ltd/Shutterstock)

He went on: ‘It hit me initially, and then I managed to find a bandwidth which I could operate within there. I’d never done a show like this before, so it was the initial bit.

‘My body was like, “Where the hell are we? What’s happening? Where’s all the stuff that that you normally depend on?”

‘At the beginning the experience was quite front-loaded, that experience of being on your own and having to self-soothe.’

Joe met his partner Hannah on The Inbetweeners (Picture: James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock) He spoke about having to ‘self-soothe’ on Celebrity Bear Hunt without Hannah with him (Picture: Ray Burmiston/Netflix/PA Wire)

Following his comments, we’ve taken a look inside their relationship…

Inside Joe Thomas and Hannah Tointon’s relationship

Joe and Hannah have been together for 15 years, after starring on The Inbetweeners’ third and final season together in 2010.

Hannah played Tara Brown, Simon’s girlfriend in the show. She’s also known for playing Katy Fox in Hollyoaks.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Up Next

Previous Page Next Page Joe and Hannah played an onscreen couple before their real life relationship (Picture: James Veysey/REX)

After their Channel 4 characters dated onscreen, the pair got together in real life shortly afterwards, and moved in together two years after the series ended.

The couple have been engaged since 2017, and though Joe has referred to Hannah as his ‘wife’ in some interviews, it is unclear when they married.

The stars have tended to keep their private lives and relationship away from the spotlight, but Joe did spill the tea about working with Hannah on their film The Festival in 2018.

The couple got engaged in 2017 (Picture: Dan Wooller/REX/Shutterstock) Hannah played Tara Brown, Simon’s girlfriend in the final season of The Inbetweeners (Picture: Channel 4)

‘I’ve just got used to it, she’s just in everything because my brain is so simple, I was just like “Yep, there she is!”’ he said while appearing on ITV’s Lorraine. 

‘It went very well, I think. I guess I do try and switch off when I get home, yeah, doing comedy all day, sometimes you just want to be calm and chilled.’ 

Do Joe Thomas and Hannah Tointon have kids?

Joe and Hannah welcomed their daughter in 2022.

Hannah’s older sister is fellow actress Kara Tointon, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and has starred in EastEnders.

She was the one to spill the beans about Joe and Hannah welcoming their first child, on Ashley James’ Mum’s The Word podcast in 2022.

Hannah’s sister Kara revealed when the couple welcomed their first child (Picture: Dan Wooller/REX/Shutterstock)

‘My sister’s just had her first,’ she announced. 

She continued: ‘What’s funny is that on Joe’s side there’s only boys, even during the scan they accidentally said “he” at one point, so they’d gone along thinking it’s a boy. 

‘Everyone playing the shape game etc said she’s having a boy, so when they eventually had a boy, it was really brilliant, but it knocked them for six.’ 

‘So they hadn’t even decided on a girls’ name, they left it as a surprise,’ Kara added. 

Celebrity Bear Hunt is available to watch on Netflix.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.