Series synopsis
The Only Way Is Essex is a British reality television series that premiered on ITV2 on October 10, 2010. It was created by Ruth Wrigley, Tony Wood. It stars Denise Van Outen, Adam Oukhellou, Amber Turner and Amber Dowding.
Part soap opera, part reality show, TOWIE follows the lives, loves and scandals of a group of real-life Essex guys and girls. Cameras capture the happenings at all kinds of glamorous locations as the cast meet up in nail bars, nightclubs and salons. Each episode features action filmed just a few days previously.
Premise
Part soap opera, part reality show, TOWIE follows the lives, loves and scandals of a group of real-life Essex guys and girls. Cameras capture the happenings at all kinds of glamorous locations as the cast meet up in nail bars, nightclubs and salons. Each episode features action filmed just a few days previously.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Denise Van Outen as Voiceover
- Adam Oukhellou as Self
- Amber Turner as Self
- Amber Dowding as Self
- Amy Childs as Self
- Angel Bo-Stanley as Self
- Becks Bloomberg as Self
- Bianca Gascoigne as Self
Supporting cast
- Billi Mucklow as Self
- Bobby Cole Norris as Self
- Cara De La Hoyde as Self
- Bill Delbosq as Self
- Charlie Sims as Self
- Billie Shepherd as Self
- Chloe Brockett as Self
- Chloe Meadows as Self
- Chloe Lewis as Self
- Chloe Ross as Self
- Chloe Sims as Self
- Courtney Green as Self
Guest cast
- Lydia Bright as Self
- Dan Osborne as Self
- Megan McKenna as Self
- Milly McKenna as Self
- Patricia Brooker as Self (as Nanny Pat)
- Danni Park-Dempsey as Self
- Ruby Lacey as Self
- Tanya McKenna as Self
- Taylor Barnett as Self
- Darrell Privett as Self
- Danny Walia as Self
- Grace Andrews as Self
Episodes
This series spans 15 seasons with 178 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 14 | December 8, 2010 | December 11, 2014 |
| Season 1 | 12 | October 10, 2010 | November 17, 2010 |
| Season 2 | 14 | March 20, 2011 | May 4, 2011 |
| Season 3 | 14 | September 25, 2011 | November 9, 2011 |
| Season 4 | 10 | January 29, 2012 | February 29, 2012 |
| Season 5 | 10 | April 15, 2012 | May 27, 2012 |
| Season 6 | 10 | July 22, 2012 | August 22, 2012 |
| Season 7 | 10 | September 30, 2012 | October 31, 2012 |
| Season 8 | 12 | February 24, 2013 | April 7, 2013 |
| Season 9 | 12 | June 2, 2013 | July 10, 2013 |
| Season 10 | 12 | October 6, 2013 | November 13, 2013 |
| Season 11 | 12 | February 23, 2014 | April 2, 2014 |
| Season 12 | 12 | June 22, 2014 | July 30, 2014 |
| Season 13 | 11 | October 8, 2014 | November 12, 2014 |
| Season 14 | 13 | February 22, 2015 | April 5, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Totally Vajazzled 1 hour "Best-Bits" special |
December 8, 2010 |
| 2 |
The Only Way Is EsseXmas 2010 Christmas special. Mark splits up with Lucy and tells Lauren he's not ready to be with her, before leaving a Christmas party in a taxi with Sam. |
December 24, 2010 |
| 3 |
I'm in Essex Girl The offical video for "I'm in Essex Girl" featuring the entire cast of the series which made it debut on ITV2 on 8 March 2011 promoting the second series. |
March 8, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 New series. Reality series following a group of people in Essex, including a club promoter, a would-be model, a member of a girl band and two bar workers. With each episode filmed just a few days before transmission, they will find out exactly what other people in the show are saying about them as well as discovering secrets that will affect their lives. |
October 10, 2010 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 The fallout from Lauren's party is revealed, Kirk's quest to win the heart of wannabe model Amy continues and club promoter Mark hosts a speed-dating event. |
October 13, 2010 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Kirk hopes his plan to woo Amy will pay off, while girl group Lola pursue their dream of becoming the next Girls Aloud. Reality series following a group of people in Essex. |
October 17, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Pop the Cristal and spray yourself a weird shade of mahogany: it's series two of the semi-staged docusoap that had the nation gawping last year. The stereotypical view of people from Essex as primped, yakking bozos was exposed by TOWIE as not having gone far enough: each week we scaled new lows of inanity as a gang of young people, steered by the show's producers and embellished by cruel editing, discussed their lives and loves. Sex, petty arguments and unpleasantly intimate beauty treatments were the dominant themes. It's filmed close to transmission to bring you the latest news from the county's night clubs and nail bars, but you can expect fallout from Mark's recent split from his glamour-model girlfriend, Amy's efforts to deal with fame and, most likely, some explicit vajazzling scenes. |
March 20, 2011 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Lauren's day proves eventful as she removes her tattoo of Mark's name, only for him to propose soon after and she accepted. Arg and Lydia are still debating whether to move in together. |
March 23, 2011 |
| 3 |
Epsiode 3 Lauren decides whether to move in with her new fiance Mark after Lucy's revelations about having recently slept with him. Amy looks for a new assistant. |
March 27, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Brand new series of the true life soap. Join the Essex boys and girls and find out what has changed after a summer of fun. |
September 25, 2011 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Joey, Lydia and Debbie head to a car boot sale, whilst Harry and his brother Ronnie have a heart-to-heart after working on their fathers flower stall. Meanwhile, Gemma throws a singles party at the Sugar Hut and Kirk and Lauren Pope share a few feelings over a walk in the park with their dog Bozo. Mark meanwhile continues his celibacy pledge before interrupting Arg and Lydia on their dinner date after feeling lonely. Nicola meanwhile decides its time to confront Lucy about her part in Lauren and Marks break-up. |
September 28, 2011 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Arg sets out on a new career path, Mark and Mario have a run-in at the gym, Mick and Kirk catch up after the singles' night and the gang go paintballing for Lauren's birthday. |
October 2, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Lauren reveals she has PIP implants during a discussion about breast surgery with Frankie and Chloe. A new girl arrives, Joey enjoys a night out with his best friend Diags, and Nanny Pat goes on a health kick. Mario talks to Lucy about the respect she has for his bachelor pad, Lydia hopes for a stress-free 21st birthday meal, while Billie and Cara try some new yoga moves - on their dogs. |
January 29, 2012 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Mario turns to his dad for relationship advice, Jess and Gemma tap into their spiritual sides, and Lauren Pope spills the beans on a past royal relationship. Joey holds a poker night for some friends, and Chloe jumps at the chance to style for the occasion, while there is a fright in store for the host when he is chased by Mick's chickens. |
February 1, 2012 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Following the previous episode's events, Cara visited Lucy to tell her about Mario's texts, which made Lucy even angrier with him. Mario, however, thinks he did nothing wrong and confides in his best friend Little Chris, who tells him he hasn't been himself for a while since being with Lucy. Meanwhile, Joey and Diags take Arg rollerskating to take his mind off Lydia, and Gemma has a gold facial treatment for her birthday party, which she pulls out all the stops for, including persuading Dino and Giorgio to paint themselves gold and stand outside the venue, acting as life-size Oscar trophies. Later on in the night, Gemma holds an award ceremony, aptly named the Gemmas, and awards Lydia "Best Dressed Female", and Joey "Best Dressed Male". Excusing themselves from the party, Georgina and Lauren P have a chat in the bathroom, with Georgina telling Lauren about how Mario has been calling her and asking her to go to dinner with him, despite him having a girlfriend, but turning him down. Then, Lucy came out of a toilet stall, said, "But still you're texting a guy who you know has a girlfriend," before leaving the bathroom, leaving Georgina and Lauren stunned. Lucy approaches Mario to talk to him about everything she's heard, but Mario defends himself. At the end, he gives her his new number, and she takes it, before walking away. |
February 5, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Joey moves into a bachelor pad with new flatmate Tom, and Lauren Goodger opens up about her weight struggles to Lydia. Arg unveils his latest look, and also throw a marathon benefit party with Billie and Cara. Plus, it remains to be seen whether Charlie and Gemma can keep their relationship on track after their surprise date. |
April 15, 2012 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Joey relaunches his Reem night with a bang, and Cara and Mick spend the day together. Gemma reveals what happened on her date with Charlie, while Arg trains for the London marathon. |
April 18, 2012 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Arg, Billie and Cara continue their marathon training with the help of Ricardo, while Mario and Ricky tease Little Chris over his failed attempt at chatting up Frankie. Elsewhere, Gemma launches a clothing line, Tom P asks Lauren G out to the pub with himself and the boys, and Ricky's mystery texter is revealed. |
April 22, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Arg and Gemma have a double date with Sam and Joey although things don't run smoothly with Arg insulting Gemma throughout the meal and Sam bumping into Lucy. |
July 22, 2012 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Lauren G agrees to go on a date with Tom P, whilst Mick holds an Essex-style sports day. |
July 25, 2012 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Joey holds an 80s themed party for his 22nd birthday. Lydia has a chat with Gemma about Arg's controlling ways which doesn't go down to well when Arg walks in on the conversation. |
July 29, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Lucy is still having doubts about planning her wedding, Charlie and Danni start dating although Charlie wants to make them exclusive. Kirk returns to the series. Gemma confronts Diags to see if Arg cheated on her during their relationship. |
September 30, 2012 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Arg and Joey attend an appearance at a wedding, while Chloe opens up about her split with her boyfriend whilst bra shopping. Arg goes round to Gemmas to try and get his stuff back and officially end their relationship. |
October 3, 2012 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Mick and Kirk decide to start work on their new business venture whilst Lucy decides to make a drastic change to her appearance. Charlie ends things with Danni due to her not wanting to commit to a sexual relationship. |
October 7, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Lauren fears that she could be pregnant. Mario celebrates his 25th birthday without Lucy, meanwhile newcomer Amy reveals that the only reason Mario hasn't cheated on her was because she turned him down. Bobby announces he wants a "gayby". Diags, Tom and Arg help Joey decorate his new shop. |
February 24, 2013 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Gemma launches her new dieting club but is disappointed to hear that Arg and Jasmin are getting close. Lauren tells Kirk that she's taken a pregnancy test and it's negative. Lucy's upset continues as she tries to find out what really happened between Mario and Amy. Bobby finds out that Gemma disapproves of his plans for a "gayby". |
February 27, 2013 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Arg invites Jasmin round for dinner at Sam's where Sam and Jess question Arg's feelings towards Gemma. Joey holds job interviews for his new shop. Mario refuses to make the first move with Lucy after claiming he's not a cheat. Kirk gets emotional in front of Lauren. |
March 3, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Only Way Is Marbs 2013, Part 1 As the group arrive in Marbs, Mario starts to enjoy single life. When Jasmin goes all out to impress him, Lucy gatecrashes the party. Wayne tries to charm Lauren by taking her on a date but gets angry when Chloe tags along. Arg gets chatting to a girl at the club but later finds out she's with Mario. Gemma ditches Bobby and Charlie K to join the others and is shocked when Arg opens up to her about his feelings, but she stands by the fact that she's over him. Ferne and Billie doubt Joey and Sam's relationship whilst Tom admits to fancying Lucy. |
June 2, 2013 |
| 2 |
The Only Way Is Marbs 2013, Part 2 Mario asks new girlfriend Beth Wilson to come to Essex when they return home, and it's revealed that Lucy and Dan spent the night together. Arg is disappointed when Gemma's boyfriend Rami arrives in Marbs to see her. Ricky shocks Jess by asking her to move in with him but Lucy soon puts a spanner in the works with her negative thoughts. On a night out, Lucy and Mario clash before Lucy throws her drink at him, and after several arguments and both getting emotional over their relationship, Joey and Sam decide to take a break from each other. |
June 5, 2013 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Back in Essex, Lucy goes on a date with Dan, meanwhile Mario plots to find out who told Lucy the truth about him cheating. Arg hosts a BBQ and plans to get closer to Gemma but isn't happy when Rami gets in the way. Ferne and Charlie S' relationship is on the rocks after they're caught in the middle of Sam and Joey's problems, and Lucy apologises to Little Chris. Billie and Ferne take Sam to a spa to brighten her mood whilst Joey confides in his family. Mario finally confesses to his mum about cheating on Lucy, and Carol finds it hard to let go of Jess. |
June 9, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Only Way Is Vegas, Part 1 The gang arrive in Vegas, but news of Charlie getting close to Jasmin is on Ferne's mind. A girl's night out to the strippers has big consequences for Ricky and Jess as their relationship comes to an end. With Lucy considering reuniting with Mario, she discovers he's recently kissed Lauren. Jess' cousin, Elliot arrives in Vegas to surprise her, and Joey and Arg get competitive at a casino. |
October 6, 2013 |
| 2 |
The Only Way Is Vegas, Part 2 Sam and Elliot's kiss has people talking, and Arg notices a connection between the pair during a meal together. Worried at how Joey would react, Arg questions Elliot over his future with Sam. Ferne forces Charlie to choose between herself and Jasmin, and it all ends in tears after she discovers he's seen her again. Ricky and Jess call a truce as he surprises her with a helicopter tour of Vegas, and news of Tom and Lucy getting together spreads, but she admits she's still in love with Mario. |
October 9, 2013 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Elliott makes his feelings known about Jess' decision to stay with Ricky causing a heated argument. Ferne confesses to spending the night with Charlie in Vegas, but claims she needs to forget about him and move on. Lucy and Tom's date is ruined when they bump into Lauren and Mario, and Lauren confronts Lucy over the rumours she's been spreading. As Elliott and Sam get closer, Joey reveals that she's been sending secret texts telling him she still loves him. |
October 13, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Billie has some celebrating to do when she goes for a baby scan and discovers she's having a girl, but there's worries for Sam as she's diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Mario introduces his new love interest Grace and invites her to his birthday party, however he's unaware that Grace has another mystery man on the go. Following the split of Charlie and Ferne, Chloe tells Charlie that there has been rumours that Ferne cheated on him. Bobby and Gemma finally make peace, and Lewis is revealed as Grace's mystery man. Charlie angrily confronts Ferne over the rumours. |
February 23, 2014 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 After Charlie and Ferne spend the night together, she finally confesses to cheating on him with Frank, a new boy in Essex. Danni and Lockie discuss buying a house, but it all ends in tears as Danni confides in Jess over rumours that Lockie has cheated. As Diags admits he has feelings for his new flatmate Fran, he's jealous when he sees her and Tom flirting with each other. Lewis tries his luck with Grace but is heartbroken when she goes on a date with Mario. Frank arrives at Gemma's party and offers Ferne a relationship. |
February 26, 2014 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Tom hatches a plan to get Diags to open up about his feelings towards Fran by deliberately making him jealous and taking her out on a date himself. Lockie isn't happy with Jess' advice towards Danni over the cheating rumours. Billie hosts a shake party for everyone to support Sam through her Crohn's disease. Tom's plan backfires as Fran wants another date. Grace backs off from Mario, and Lockie confesses to texting other girls causing Danni to realise she doesn't want to move in with him anymore. |
March 2, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Only Way Is Marbs, Part 1 | June 22, 2014 |
| 2 | The Only Way Is Marbs, Part 2 | June 25, 2014 |
| 3 | Episode 3 | June 29, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Ibiza, Part 1 The award-winning real life soap returns for its thirteenth series, following the Essex gang on holiday on the party island of Ibiza. What will Bobby wear on the beach this time? |
October 8, 2014 |
| 2 |
Ibiza, Part 2 The holiday continues on the party island of Ibiza. Has Lewis gone too far? Georgia gives Tommy some ground rules. Elliott's controlling nature worries Chloe. |
October 12, 2014 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Could Chloe and Elliott's relationship really be falling apart? Lewis tries to make amends for his laddish behaviour in Ibiza, but will anyone really want to know? |
October 15, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 The UK's most talked-about reality show returns with a fourteenth series. What will happen during a girly holiday in Tenerife? Can Bobby outdo his revealing outfit from last year? |
February 22, 2015 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 What will happen during a girly holiday in Tenerife? Can Bobby outdo his revealing outfit from last year? |
February 25, 2015 |
| 3 | Episode 3 | March 1, 2015 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ITV2 |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 10, 2010 |
| Last aired | May 18, 2026 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Status | Returning Series |
| Schedule | Monday, Sunday at 21:00:00 |