Sick Swash pulls out of panto

I'm A Celebrity... winner Joe Swash has been forced to pull out of his pantomine role after falling ill with flu.

The 26-year-old actor had been playing Buttons in Cinderella at the Central Theatre in Chatham, Kent.

"He is tucked up in bed and taking time off becaue he is sick with flu," his agent Becca Barr told The Mirror. "He's seen a doctor and hopes to return soon."

The former Eastenders star previously revealed that he was trying to bulk up for the role after shedding a stone-and-a-half while in the jungle for the ITV1 reality show.

An understudy will perform the part of Buttons until Swash is well enough to return. The show runs until January 4, 2009.