Joe Swash has revealed that his grandmother has passed away.

The 38-year-old actor posted a tribute on Instagram to his relative, uploading a photo of her holding his baby son Rex and explaining how he was heartbroken not to see her before she died.

Joe wrote: ''Good night Nanny Fran.

''Sleep well. I miss you so much already. I'm heartbroken. I wish I could have spent more time with you. I wish I could have seen you more before you left us. I wish I could have said goodbye. But I know you know how much we all love you and you'll be watching down on us, looking after us forever more. Goodbye Nan. Love you.''

The 'Dancing on Ice' star also expressed sympathy to people who have not be able to be with loved ones who have passed away during the coronavirus pandemic.

He wrote: ''Thinking of all of those who have lost loved ones during this awful situation. Thinking of all of the people who weren't able to be by their loved ones side. Those who won't be able to say goodbye at their funerals. It's excruciating. And cruel. Sending so much love your way.''

The tragic news comes after Joe's partner, Stacey Solomon, hinted that he had been going through some difficulty after fans noticed that he had been absent from social media.

Sharing a photo of them holding hands, the 'Loose Women' panellist wrote: I wasn't going to say anything at all in case it gets made into a story. But so many stories have been written over the last couple of days so I thought I should say...

'''Personal reasons' isn't code for divorce (we aren't married but you know what I mean). It just means some things are happening in our lives personally at the moment. And some things aren't mine to share. We love you all & hope you're all ok. These are really strange, scary and emotional times and it's not easy for anyone.''