Joe Swash: Brush with death inspires actor to join Leeds charity run

Tanned, fit and healthy – at least, he looks that way – Joe Swash appears well prepared to run a marathon. Indeed, he looks like he could run 10 kilometres before breakfast.

But just five years ago Joe feared he may not survive after being struck down with meningitis, a disease which killed his gran. He was in hospital for six weeks and had to take three months off work .

It is a testament to his good genes that he was in Leeds last week looking the peak of physical fitness for the launch of this year's Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10K, which, come the weekend of July 4, he will be running with thousands of others.

"I don't go to the gym, I don't go running. I used to play football for the ex-Arsenal celebrity team, but it's been a busy couple of years, so I haven't had a chance to do that for a little while," says the 28-year-old Londoner.

"I'll turn up and see what happens. I'm the perfect example of why anyone can do this run," insists Joe. "You don't have to do loads of training, or be really fit, you can even be a bit podgy and bit unfit like me, but you just have to turn up and do it."

On July 4, more than 10,000 people will join Joe as he runs the Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10K around the city. Now in its fourth year, the run was established in memory of the inspirational fundraiser.

Mrs Tomlinson, 43, from Rothwell, raised more than 1.75m through gruelling endurance events before losing her seven-year battle with cancer in 2007.

This year Joe is joining the thousands of other runners to raise funds for his own chosen charity, Sparks.

Joe first came to fame when he joined EastEnders as Mickey Miller in 2003, playing the character until 2008. He says: "I never went to drama school or anything like that. I went to a normal secondary school, which was actually quite rough. When I was little I started going to an after-school club. I think it was a handy way for my mum to get me out of the house."

The after-school club was the Anna Scher Theatre Club, which, while not a full-time theatre school, has produced a number of actors who have gone on to take roles in soaps.

Joe says he loved his time on Eastenders, but the last few years have been particularly exciting.

A few months after leaving, Joe turned up on our TV screens again, this time on ITV in the Australian outback, when he appeared in the 2008 series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! He lost two and half stone during the reality show.

During the trials and tribulations of the jungle, Joe found himself an audience favourite and emerged from his stint as the viewers' champion and was crowned King of the Jungle.

"I love having a laugh and don't take myself too seriously. Just enjoy yourself and if you do, then hopefully that will come across on TV," he says.

One thing Joe is serious about, however, is raising money for charity. Last year he became Patron of Meningitis UK after beating the disease himself. "I was certain I was going to die," he said. "My family were told to expect the worst and mum thought she'd lost me as I looked so ill – like a rag doll with completely lifeless limbs.

"It felt like someone was kicking me in the back of the head. I've never felt pain like it."

Tests revealed Joe had meningoencephalitis –

a rare form of viral meningitis which causes inflammation of the brain.

There are more than 6,000 cases of viral meningitis in the UK

every year and meningoencephalitis is one of the most serious complications.

Bacterial meningitis is much more dangerous, killing about 300 people each year. Those who survive are often left with after-effects including deafness, blindness, limb loss, learning difficulties, memory issues and behavioural problems.

Joe said: "Having had meningitis myself I know what people go through."

Now he is running the Jane Tomlinson 10k for his nominated charity Sparks, a children's medical charity for which Jane remains the biggest individual fundraiser.

Joe says that he always wanted to use his fame to do something good and had to choose which charities he would help out. "I've got a little boy (Harry) who's two-and-a-half, so Sparks seemed like a good one to choose," he says.

Joe's generous streak can be traced back to tragedy. His father, a London cab driver, died when Joe was 12. The London Taxi Drivers' Association is another charity he regularly works with.

"They look after drivers' widows and they look after under-privileged kids, sending them on trips and stuff, they looked after us when I was a kid and it was nice to give something back to them," he says.

"That's actually one of the nicest things about being a celebrity, that you can do stuff like doing the run for Jane and bring some awareness to charities like Sparks and bring some support."

And even though he's not planning on doing any training soon, he says Jane will inspire him on the day.

"Her's is an amazing story and it really puts things in to perspective," he says.

"When you think about what she did, you realise that a 10k run really isn't much."

The 2010 Jane Tomlinson's Leeds 10K takes place on Sunday July 4. Run, walk, wheel or jog – the event is open to people of all abilities. Enter on line at www.runforall.com