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JOEY Essex has insisted he is not a bully – after he came under fire for his behaviour in the Love Island villa.

In his first interview since being dumped, the 33-year-old said he is not a fake person and was simply doing a job.

During his stint in the sun, Joey was accused of picking on Omar, Grace, Mimii and Josh, which lead to 100s of Ofcom complaints.

But Joey refutes the label, telling us:   “Am I a bully? No.

 “We're surrounded by about 85 cameras with a storyline, with a show to make. That is the reality.”

Asked how it felt to be called that, Joey said:  “Don't get me wrong, you've got to take it, whatever you say or do is what you’ve said and done. It's just that I was dragged into conversations. I was dragged into conversations.

“And you've got to remember the fact that I'm 33 and everyone else in there is younger.

“But it's just me and fellow Islander having a disagreement. That's all it is.”

Joey added: “If I sat in there and just sat by the pool with Jessie and Grace and just sat there eating an ice cream all day or just stuck with the first person who picked me They would have gone, Joe, you're quite boring, ain't he?

“I'd have entertained no one. The show would have been boring.”

One person in particular that Joey didn’t see eye to eye with was Omar Nyame when he came in and made a beeline for Grace Jackson, who Joey was with at the time.

The paired squared up to each other in heated scenes and the others had to step in to stop things going further.

But Joey says there is no drama between him and Omar, remarking: “Me and Omar are completely cool, you know. He's actually really, really, really nice boy. So there's no hard feelings there at all between me and him, we get on.

“I'm not a fake person but I don’t hold a grudge. Nothing's personal for me. Everyone in there thinks it's very personal. But that's on them.”

Joey has worked on a string of ITV shows since Towie including I’m a Celebrity, Dancing on Ice, Splash! and Educating Joey Essex.