Sam Thompson was “punched in the b******s by a kid” when he visited the city dubbed one of the UK’s worst seaside destinations. The former Made in Chelsea star says he was in Southend-on-Sea when he was struck by the youngster.
The city was recently named among the worst seaside locations by consumer champions Which?. It propped up the table of seaside resorts along with Bognor Regis, Bangor in Wales, and Clacton.
The I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! winner opened up about his visit to Southend after being quizzed if he had ever been on a caravan holiday by pal Pete Wicks. On their Staying Relevant podcast, Sam replied: “No.”It led to reality TV star Pete reminiscing about his childhood holidays to towns such as Frinton and Saint Osyth in Essex. The former TOWIE star said: “[We] used to go to the static caravan homes.
You’d go there, there’d be a clubhouse where all that sort of s**t goes on, there’d be weird forced fun activities during the day that even as a child I’d be miserable to do, and you’d get to play in the arcades down at Southend. You’d go to Frinton and the beaches.”
It prompted Sam to recall the moment he visited Southend. He replied: “I’ve been to Southend. I got punched in the b******s by a kid.”
Pete responded: “Yeah…let’s go back. Not for that reason. But a typical old-school staycation like that, I think is fundamental to growing up, especially if you don’t grow up with a lot of things.
“They were f*****g brilliant. Like honestly brilliant. I used to love the caravan type of stuff.”
It would seem that Sam isn’t the only person who doesn’t have fond memories of Southend. The Essex city was recently branded the “worst place on Earth” by Which? readers.
Its beaches scored a lowly two stars while the city’s scenery only bagged one star. Despite the criticism however, Southend attracts around six million visitors each year.
In September 2024, the city was branded a “no-go zone” due to street drinking, reports EssexLive . While visitors and locals alike have taken to Tripadvisor to share their reviews of the beach in Southend.
One wrote: “Went with my family on a trip to Southend. A few years back this beach was in an absolutely horrible state, so we came back to this beach to see if there were any improvements. However, results were very unexpected and shocking."
Another reviewer said it was the "worst place on Earth", adding: "Avoid the beach, avoid the city, avoid the people."
Not everyone was critical however. One visitor to the city praised the beach, writing: “The beach is generally kept clean and tidy, if you're local it's nice to visit early in the day or later in the evening when the tourists aren't swarming the place but on a sunny bank holiday it is absolutely packed with people from out of the area."
