It seems that no corner of the UK has been left unturned when it comes to providing delicious and drama-filled reality TV this season. From the prim and proper cast of Made In Chelsea to the party animals of the Geordie Shore, this summer has delivered some interesting insights into the lives of a select few of Britain’s wealthiest and glamorous (this is debatable) teens.
When The Only Way Is Essex first landed on our TV screens back in 2010 the Daily Mirror described it as Britain’s answer to The Hills and Jersey Shore - and although there are certainly similar traits between the two shows the gorge and glam of Essex really is in a league of its own.
Set to the backdrop of nail bars, wine bars, spray tans, flash cars, big watches and bigger egos, it is almost impossible not to get hooked on this gossip fuelled show. TOWIE has quickly become my guilty pleasure, and by the looks of the cheering audience at this year’s Bafta’s when the cast took away the YouTube Audience Award (voted for by the public), I am definitely not alone.
The first series of the hit show certainly was full of tears, tantrums and crazy antics from the cast of (so-called) real life characters – and we can probably thank Lauren and Mark for all of the juicy drama that was created. I really do empathise with poor Lauren who struggled in the first two series to accept that her six year long relationship with Mr. Wright (Jack Tweedy’s bessie mate) had dwindled.
With the amount of rendezvous’ Mark has had with Lucy who he claims is not his girlfriend and a gullible Sam who is convinced she has a “special connection” with the PR guru, you would think that Lauren would run a mile – but surprisingly she keeps on returning to the heartbreak hotel.
Since announcing their engagement on the hit TV show it appears that Lauren’s plan to tie her childhood sweetheart down for good have fallen on deaf ears - if anything it has made her fiancé more determined to play the field. Despite recent reports suggesting that Mark rekindled his romance with Lucy while holidaying in Marbella, Lauren insists that having a baby is the perfect solution to their ongoing turmoil (oh dear!). These ‘lovebirds’ are in some series need of a trip to visit Jeremy Kyle!
I couldn’t help but cringe when a rather naïve Lucy confronted Lauren in last night’s season one finale. When Lauren gave her “We’re in love” speech I found myself getting a bout of the giggles, but when she continued to stalk Mark backstage at the fight and give him a spiel about moving to Dubai with work it all became a little bit too cheesy for my liking.
I don’t know what to make of Lauren’s boss Adam – are we supposed to think he fancies her or is he just a good friend? If anything I think Adam’s character came across as being a little forced and very random. Let’s just hope for all of the TOWIE fans out there that he wasn’t a plant, and that his everyday conversations naturally sound scripted (yup I think I will go with that).
On the other hand, the fight scene between Kirk and Mark looked highly credible and realistic. Poor Kirk received a right old hiding and I can’t even imagine the pain his bruised face must have been in.
I didn’t expect Kirk and his DJ girlfriend to last too long but I was surprised with their recent break-up which occurred while undergoing joint nose restructuring operations (yes you read right). Last month the couple were shopping for wedding rings, and now they have parted their ways as Lauren has moved out of Kirk’s Norcross home. Are they really over?
In last night’s episode an excited Amy Childs got signed to the same glamour modelling agency as her best pal Sam Faiers. When you look at the fame and attention this overnight sensation has received since filming last year it really is flabbergasting. It came as no big shock to me when Ms Childs graced the cover of every lads mag under the sun including FHM, but I never in my wildest dreams thought that she would feature on the cover of Vogue.
Amy clearly has secured her place as the star of the show and has proved to be quite a savvy business entrepreneur. With rumours circulating that the former beautician is to launch a clothing range in a prestigious department store, and daily reports on the stars hopes to make it big in Hollywood – I am afraid to say I may have underestimated this glamour queen. Watch this space! I predict a premature autobiography deal in the near future!
I can deal with Chloe Sims, Maria Fowler and Lucy Mecklenburg making a return to the third series, but I fear that losing Amy and her adorable cousin Harry may hit the show hard.
Hopefully Mark will conjure up some more drama and tricky situations to make the third series worthwhile!
Laura Delaney
