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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tom Herbert

Who is Cliff Parisi? Meet the new I'm A Celebrity contestant and former EastEnders star who used to play Minty

Another ex-EastEnders actor is joining stars calling the Aussie jungle home on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Here! Get Me Out Of Here this week.

Cliff Parisi, best known for playing Minty Peterson in the long-running soap, will be a late newcomer to the jungle when he appears in the series on Sunday's episode.

Thanks to his role on the BBC show, the 59-year-old be recognisable to many TV fans but there's plenty more to know about start.

As he prepares to enter the jungle, get to know the actor below...

(BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian)

Who is Cliff Parisi?

Cliff was born on May 24, 1960 to George and Irene. He grew up in Hornsey, north London.

He started his career in comedy in 1982 and after touring the UK as a stand-up, he made his first proper foray into television by playing Lunchbox in the TV series Chancer in 1990.

Cliff then got his big break in 2002 when his friend Steve McFadden - better known as Phil Mitchell - recommended him for the part.

He married BBC producer Tara Wyer in 2009, and has two children with her. He has three more children from previous relationships.

Who did he play in Eastenders?

Cliff played Minty in Eastenders (BBC)

Cliff played Minty Peterson from 2002 to 2010. During his eight years in the role, producers took Minty on quite the journey as he became everything from a cold-hearted landlord to unlucky-in-love mechanic.

His friendship with Gary Hobbs provided plenty of funny and unexpectedly heartwarming moments, while his relationship with Manda Best provided plenty of drama.

The character also married Heather Trott after a misunderstanding that left her thinking he had proposed. When Heather, who had developed feelings for Minty, discovered he had been having an affair with someone else, she sought an annulment.

What other roles is he known for?

He has also played Fred Buckle since 2012 (Neal Street Productions/BBC)

Cliff has played the lovable Fred Buckle in Call The Midwife since 2012.

He also also starred on Hollyoaks as the character Walt for four episodes in June 2012.

In the same year, he made one appearance in Hustle, playing Arnie in the episode "Gold Finger". In 2014, he appeared in the Outnumbered episode "K for Victory" as Ed Poll.

What has he said about I'm A Celebrity?

Cliff recently admitted that after initially turning down the show, he decided to go for it because of “the taxman.”

He told The Sun: “I gave myself a bit of a talking to, and then I spoke to the accountant and he made my mind up."

But Cliff said he was concerned that the other contestants will have already bonded by the time he arrives with Andrew.

He said: "There is a worry because they are all mates now and I'm going to come in and they are just going to go, 'Go away'."

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