Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash on their reality show: 'There were a few times when I wished the cameras weren’t there!'

Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash have certainly got their hands full. Alongside successful TV careers and business interests, Sort Your Life Out host Stacey and ex-EastEnders actor Joe run a busy household - the affectionately named Pickle Cottage - in Essex, where they tied the knot in 2022, and which is now home to five kids, four ducks and two dogs!

But what’s life really like for the Solomon-Swash family? Well, we’re about to find out as Stacey and Joe throw open the doors of Pickle Cottage for new fly-on-the-wall reality series Stacey & Joe on BBC1.

The six-part series sees cameras follow as the couple juggle raising their blended family - their three children Rex, five, Rose, three and one-year-old Belle, plus Zachary, 16, and Leighton, 12, Stacey’s sons from a previous relationship - with busy work schedules and ambitious passion projects. And nothing is off limits!

We caught up with Stacey, 35, and Joe, 43, to talk cameras, clashes and chaos…

Stacey and Joe, this show gives unprecedented access to Pickle Cottage, home to five kids, four ducks and two dogs! Why is now the right time to open up your lives to viewers?

Stacey: "There’s always stuff written about us - often just speculation - so we thought that, if people want to know about our lives, we should just let the cameras in and show them!"

Joe: "People will see the madness at Pickle Cottage - but it’s a house full of love, life and energy. This is Us is such a lovely family album to have."

Did you have any reservations about letting the cameras in?

Stacey: "There may be times where we’ve thought: ‘I wish the cameras weren’t there for that bit’ but the title of the show is This is Us - so what you see is what you get!"

Joe: "People represent their lives as being so perfect on social media but we know it’s our responsibility to show the reality of it - the highs, lows, arguments, nappies… everything!"

The six-part series explores how you both juggle busy TV work schedules and business ventures with raising your blended family, aged between five and 16. Stacey, why is it important for your two eldest sons to help with household chores to earn money?

Stacey: "It's important for Zach (16) and Leighton (12) to know we’ll support them whichever way we can but, ultimately, they're going to have their own lives, dreams and careers, which won’t come from us giving them everything. It is a constant battle with teenagers - but I was excited to earn my own money and become financially independent and I want them to be excited for that, too!"

Stacey, you’re ‘fuming’ when Joe arrives late to an important meeting about your passion project of creating a new perfume. How do you handle disagreements?

Stacey: "We're not the perfect couple but I haven't got time for a proper argument, I’ve literally got a million other things to worry about! Because life’s so busy and you’ve already moved on to the next thing, a lot of our arguments go unresolved. When someone says: ‘I’m in my gym era’, well, we’re in our peak-craziness era! And we just have to get on with it."

As you enjoy a well-earned family holiday in Turkey and reflect on the milestone year ahead, what have you learned about yourselves from making this show?

Stacey: "That Joe would like me to be a baby-making machine, which I’ve effectively been for the last five years. I’m still recovering after three consecutive births - I can’t do it again!"

Joe: "The main thing I've learned is that we’ve got the most amazing kids. We're so proud of them - they’re our little legacies!"

Stacey & Joe starts on Tuesday April 1 at 8pm on BBC1.