Entertainment
I’m A Celebrity 2021: Adam Woodyatt wife, age, and EastEnders character
Let’s get to know Adam Woodyatt… (Picture: Rex /BBC/Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)
Adam Woodyatt is already well and truly settling in to castle life on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The EastEnders actor joined as a late arrival alongside Coronation Street icon Simon Gregson this week.
The pair were thrown in at the deep end with a Bushtucker Trial, but faced their fears and bagged an impressive 11 stars out of 12 to feed their new campmates.
Adam’s appearance on the reality show comes during his year-long break from the BBC soap, in which he will pursue other projects.
The Albert Square icon said he will be ‘as much use as a chocolate teapot’ in his introductory VT, however, he’s already proved a hit with viewers.
So, as we prepare to watch Adam and his fellow celebrities eating kangaroo testicles and crawling through caves of rats every night, let’s find out a little more about him and his life off-screen.
Who is I’m A Celeb’s Adam Woodyatt? (Picture: ITV)
Who is Adam Woodyatt’s wife?
Adam is currently single, having been married to dancer Beverley Sharp since 1998.
The couple tied the knot on April 8 in a private ceremony at Disney World, Florida.
However, on August 21 2020, it was revealed that Adam had decided to separate from Beverley the previous year after more than twenty years of marriage.
For many years, the couple lived in Southam, Warwickshire, close to where Adam recorded EastEnders at BBC’s Elstree Studios.
The two share two children – Jessica, 28, and Samuel James, 24 – who he said were the only people he told about his I’m A Celeb stint.
The soap star deliberately chose to keep his latest project from his friends and the family, including ex-wife Beverley, because he wanted it to be a ‘surprise.’
‘I didn’t want to spoil the surprise and so I have been keeping very quiet about it,’ he admitted, revealing he only told his children ‘recently.’
Adam and Beverley split after 20 years of marriage (Picture: Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)
How old is Adam Woodyatt?
Adam was born on June 28 1968, making him 53 years old.
He’s been acting and performing from an early age, with his first production being on stage at the National Theatre in Tom Stoppard’s play On the Razzle at just 13-years-old.
He joined EastEnders in 1985, not expecting to stay beyond the first year.
However, he is now the longest-serving male cast member in EastEnders. Alongside Letitia Dean, Gillian Taylforth and Jane Slaughter, Adam is one of only four members of the original cast currently remaining in the soap opera.
In 2013, he was honoured at the British Soap Awards, with a lifetime achievement award.
Ian Beale has appeared in EastEnders since 1986 (Picture: BBC)
Who did Adam Woodyatt play on EastEnders?
Adam is best known (and loved) for playing Ian Beale.
Ian is one of the original 23 characters written by the creators of EastEnders and a member of the first family of EastEnders, the Beales and Fowlers.
He’s a business owner and chef and, excluding his break from the show, is the only character to have appeared in every episode since EastEnders first hit screens.
Ian is also the most-married character in EastEnders history, with six marriages to five women and two aborted engagements.
Will Adam return to EastEnders next year? (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)
Some of Ian Beale’s most memorable storylines include his ongoing feud with Phil Mitchell, Ian’s homelessness, and the death of daughter Lucy.
In August 2020, it was announced that Adam would be taking an ‘extended break’ from EastEnders, with his final scenes being broadcast in January 2021.
Appearing on The One Show in May this year, Adam was quizzed about how long his break would last.
He explained that he is starring in a theatre production until October and would then be attending his daughter’s wedding in America.
More: I’m A Celebrity
He could not give a specific date for his character’s return, but revealed it will be 2022 ‘at the earliest.’
Adam’s former on-screen wife Laurie Brett, who played Jane Beale in the serial drama, will join him in Looking Good Dead, which goes on tour in January.
I’m A Celebrity returns tonight at 9pm on ITV.
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