Yahoo News Exclusive: Shut up! An oral history of TOWIE
It's hard to believe there was a time before TOWIE. It feels as if it's always been there, with its glossy cast and catchphrases. But this year, the legendary Essex-based constructed reality show celebrates its tenth anniversary. To mark the occasion, Digital Spy spoke to the cast and crew to look back at a revolution in reality TV.
We spoke to:
Ruth Wrigley, show creator
Bobby Norris, cast member
Demi Sims, cast member
Charlie King, cast member
Mike Spencer, producer
Emma Bunning, TOWIE cast liaison, 2012-2013
Justin Jeffreys, TOWIE press officer
Ruth Wrigley, chief exec on the first few series of Big Brother, watched at first hand the change from its origin as a social experiment to a "storylined" environment manipulated by producers to create drama – and a seed was planted in her mind. However, it would be her daughters' viewing habits that would bring that seed into bloom.
RUTH WRIGLEY: I had been the original executive producer on Big Brother before going off to do other things in TV. But I had noticed that lots of things were changing about the show that I had started. People were now going on expecting to become famous.
Meanwhile, my three daughters had become obsessed with the US reality show The Hills. I didn't know much about it, so I sat down with them to see what it was all about. I was like "Oh my God, this is so set up. I can't believe it." But they said to me, "We don't care." That suddenly made me realise that my girls were interested in real people and real lives and as long as the emotion was real, they didn't care that it was set up to look glamorous.
Convinced that her ground-breaking reality show was a winner, Ruth took it to her boss at All3Media. Although he found it hard to get his head around, he was swayed by Ruth's impressive TV credentials, gave her the go ahead and suggested that she team up with Tony Wood, a producer on Hollyoaks.
RUTH WRIGLEY: Tony had previously done a show called Living on The Edge for MTV, which he said was their answer to The Hills. However, it hadn't quite worked.
When I met Tony, we immediately understood one another. I learnt a lot from him as I had only ever done documentary, factual reality and it was scary to produce something without a voiceover. However, together Tony and I made it work.
The initial pitch
Convinced that their innovative new twist on reality TV would be a smash hit, Ruth and Tony took the idea to Channel 4, a network they already had close ties with.
RUTH WRIGLEY: The show was originally going to be set in Bournemouth. We had heard that the council there were investing two million pounds into a wave machine and creating a surf village with cafes. We thought that might be a great place to set this dramality – a phrase we dreamt up to describe the format.
So off we went to Channel 4 feeling very cocky – after all, I had been the exec producer of Big Brother and Tony was the exec producer of Hollyoaks and we had this amazing idea. We pitched it to Julian Bellamy, but he just didn't get it. He was like, 'Is it a documentary?'
We came out of the meeting a little crestfallen. However, the next day I was having lunch with a woman from ITV2 called Claire Zolkwer. I told her about our idea but pitched it in a very different way to the way I had at Channel 4.
I said, "How come you don't have a soap on ITV2, when all the other channels do?" And she said it was because they couldn't afford all the acting fees.
So I pitched the idea as a soap, only one featuring real people with real lives. And she bought into it. However, Claire said she didn't like the fact it was set in Bournemouth because she felt surfer types were a bit too middle class and posh.
She then suggested setting it in Essex. And I got it. My partner at the time was from Essex and I understood the entrepreneurial working-class belief that if you've got cash, you flash it. So, with that now in mind, we set about looking for our cast.
Casting
Ruth charged her team of casting producers to seek out the biggest characters in Essex. Big Brother contestant Brian Belo had previously pitched a fly-on-the-wall documentary to Lime featuring his friends Amy Childs, Mark Wright, Kirk Norcross and Sam Faiers, among others. (He later sued over ownership of the TOWIE concept and settled out of court). Trawling the streets, clubs and bars of Essex in search of the perfect bunch of friends and lovers, the producers assembled the perfect ingredients for the show.
RUTH WRIGLEY: Mark Wright was the key casting. He was a club promoter who led a complicated life.
We had worked out that if we had one key person who had drama in their lives, including his friends, his girlfriend, his exes, his nan, his mum and sister, it was like a spider in a web. Whatever he did affected other people.
Mark also had a lot of celebrity mates in his life who were members of boybands or were footballers. He was even mates with Jade Goody's husband, Jack [Tweed]. But after a bit of thinking we decided not to include those friends. We wanted to keep it real.
Mark really was a rare find. He was a beautiful-looking boy but he was also wonderfully self-aware. Although he had a long-term girlfriend and was seeing other women, he understood that he wasn't married and didn't have children and could be that loveable rogue. He said, "Most women want to shag me and most men want to be me." But he loved his mum and his nan, so he had a soft side too.
Then we had Sam Faiers. We were interested in her because we knew she was seeing Mark while he was dating Lauren Goodger. She came along to see us and brought Amy Childs along with her and we tested them both. In fact, I still have their casting tape. I was like, "Oh my god!"
The thing about Amy was she was ditzy, she knew she was ditzy and played it up a bit like you do on social media. Then she led us to Harry Derbidge, her cousin, who was as camp as a row of tents. They were brilliant because you just couldn't make those characters up. They just were.
We had great producers on the show who could seek out great people, but one of them, Shirley Jones, who I knew from my Big Brother days, was amazing at reading people. She would say to me, "Trust me, there's more to this one," and would steer herself away from the obvious show-offs. She was the one who later found Joey [Essex] and saw something special in him.
JUSTIN JEFFREYS, press officer: I've always believed that the major key to TOWIE's success was in the casting. Obviously the inevitable dramas, romances and showdowns that play out keep us riveted, but they all stem from the personalities on screen. TOWIE has always had the knack for finding genuine, relatable, multi-dimensional Essex characters with that extra dash of star quality.
MIKE SPENCER, producer: When I started out in series two, I was part of the casting team and looked for new people by exploring the existing cast's social circles. I remember doing Gemma Collins' first casting tape. My colleague Mesha had got Gemma's details through Amy Childs. She had been working for BMW at the time and she burst into the room in typical GC style and bellowed, "Mikey baby, what are you wearing, you smell amazing."
Mesha and I were blown away as she was such a force and so different to a lot of the other girls we had on the series. We actually filmed a champagne evening at her house to cut in with her audition tape, she was hilarious and we knew we were looking at a star!
BOBBY NORRIS, cast member: I'm a big believer in fate. I was just out and about and saw the show was filming on the street. I got talking to a producer who told me to give them a call as they'd like to see me. That was the Saturday, so the following Tuesday I went to their office, TOWIE Towers in Marble Arch, for a meeting. There was a handheld camera on a tripod filming our conversation. Then just ten days later, I was filming.
CHARLIE KING, cast member: I lived in Southend when the show started and had my own restaurant. One day, the location producer came in to discuss using the restaurant as a location and said they liked me and were intrigued by me as a young guy with a business. Then they invited me to a casting and I got called in to their head office in Marble Arch to meet the team.
DEMI SIMS, cast member: Back in 2014, when I was 17, Chloe [Sims] asked me if I wanted to do a cameo. I was young and excited so said, "Yeah, of course". The show was at its peak at this time so all my friends were excited that I was going to be in it. I only did the one episode because I realised I was too young to be in it then. What I was saying in that scene wasn't making sense.
CHARLIE KING: Because I didn't know anyone on the show, the producers had a problem with me. How would I fit in? I didn't know any of the cast, I didn't live in the immediate area, so their problem was how do they bring in an outsider without having to fake relationships. That held them back and they decided not to bring me in for a while.
DEMI SIMS: After that first time, I had various meetings with the producers over the next few years. They seemed to be interested and wanted me in it but I kept bottling it at the last minute. Then I came on again in a small cameo role where I came out as bisexual. Because I got such good feedback, the producers were really keen for me to commit to the series. So I said, 'Definitely, I'll come on'.
The show launches
Backed by a huge advertising campaign, the 10-part series aired on ITV2 and was a surprise ratings smash, introducing viewers to an outrageous cast of uber-tanned unknowns who divided the nation and left some viewers confused by what they were actually saying.
CHARLIE KING: I remember there was a huge build-up to the show. There was a big advertising campaign before it started and everyone in Essex was thinking, "What is this show going to be about?" because all we saw was little snippets. When it finally came on, we were engrossed in it because we couldn't work out what we'd seen.
RUTH WRIGLEY: When ITV trailed the show, I have to admit it made no sense to me. They had made it look like a documentary about posh people in Essex and not about the friendships and relationships of a bunch of young people. Luckily, the ITV audience, who are predominantly northern, quite liked watching these people in Essex.
I remember on the first night, there was a classic tweet from Alan Carr who said, "What is this shit?" And then five minutes later, saying, "Oh my God, I'm completely hooked."
What appealed to the audience was its authenticity. They are real people, there's no make-up, no wardrobe, we don't tell them what to say. And people really engaged with that. So from then on people wanted to look like the much-maligned Essex girls. They'd go to Brentwood at the weekend. And it took off.
CHARLIE KING: We didn't know if what we were watching was real. Were they actors playing parts? We couldn't tell to start with! The show focused on a small triangle of the county which wasn't a part of Essex I frequented all that much. It was all new to me but there were some real similarities in what was going on in my life.
MIKE SPENCER: Amy Childs was such a stand-out character to me as a viewer. I always just wanted to watch more! I wasn't ever surprised at the audience reaction to the show.
DEMI SIMS: My sister Chloe had been asked to go on the first series, but she decided not to do it until the second series. We were really excited to see what it was like and what it was all about.
When it came on it was really popular and hilarious. It was such a good show and it showed how people really were in Essex. You heard the accents, you saw these people who had their hair and make-up done.
I didn't actually know anyone on the show, but then I was 13. But when my cousin Joey and Chloe ended up in the show, I got to meet the cast that way. It was great to see them on the show. I was so young, I was so excited to see them on TV and doing well. I just never thought my family would ever be TV stars.
Storylining
At the start of each episode, Denise van Outen informed viewers that what followed included scenes set up for viewers' entertainment. But what did this actually mean? Was the show fake? Or were the stories of love, lust and fall outs actually based in reality?
RUTH WRIGLEY: As we say at the start of every show, the boobs and tans might be fake, the emotion is always real. What I mean by that is, you produce people to talk about what's going on in their lives and get them to react.
So you might say to one of the cast that they meet someone they have beef with in a coffee shop. Then we would just suggest they talk to them about it whatever it is they needed to get off their chest. So the meeting was set up but what the cast actually said during that scene was real. There was no script.
MIKE SPENCER: When I worked on the show, a producer and I would have regular meetings with the entire cast. We would keep a diary of every event they were going to, every business venture they were planning and they would keep us up to date on where they were at in their relationship and generally what's going on in their life. From there, we would decide what we were following!
BOBBY NORRIS: People always ask me how real is TOWIE. I have never been given a script. There is no script. When people talk about storylines, it's not like Coronation Street. It's all based on our own lives.
What happens is, the cast liaison will call us up or come to see us and go, "Hey Bob, what's going on in your life at the moment?" and I might say, "Well it's my birthday soon and I'm going to have a party". And then that is fed back to the story producers who then try to work it into the show. The story is real, but it's just been put into a format for the crew to film it.
I've worked with many great producers on the show over the years and it's cheese on toast to say it but we really do become friends, we're like a family.
EMMA BUNNING: I was cast liaison producer – my job was to hop between the different casts, as their point of contact every day I would be going between different houses, either Arg's or Joey's or Gemma's or Sam and Billie Faiers'. Essentially, I became their friend, their confidante, their counsellor.
They would tell me everything! I was their shoulder to cry on, their first point of contact if something went wrong or if a relationship was breaking down. This I would feed back to the story producers and they then would create scenes around what was happening in their lives.
So for example, Joey would tell me that he wanted to take Sam Faiers on holiday and would ask me if could I help him book dates and see when he was free to go away. I was basically seeing them every day.
RUTH WRIGLEY: It was a very fast turnaround. It was two days from first shot to TX. And what that meant was that the cast were watching at the same time as the viewers and a whole Twitter conversation would start up and they would react to that – and that keeps the action going for the next episode.
BOBBY NORRIS: It takes a certain kind of a person to do a reality show. You have to have a thick skin and understand what you're getting into. For me, I think there is no point in being on a reality TV show and keeping things back from the producers. You've got to give them 110 percent, otherwise what's the point?
Of course, it's lovely filming the nice lovely stuff, but I think you owe it to the audience to show them the tough times you go through, too. That's the deal you make with the audience when you sign up.
Success!
Although it was a ratings and critical smash, TOWIE still faced criticism from some quarters. But in 2011, the cast and crew had the last laugh when the show was nominated for and won a TV BAFTA.
RUTH WRIGLEY: While the cast already felt like winners, I wasn't expecting us to win because we were up against Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, which was huge at the time.
But when we did win, we went up as a rabble. It was a very TOWIE moment. Some people were so snooty about us winning. Cumberbatch, you know who you are. It was an audience-voted thing and it was great to know that they loved the show. Winning was quite radical but I like that – I like doing things that are different.
EMMA BUNNING: I remember seeing a picture of my exec Shirley and Joey at the ceremony holding the award – I mean, that was a big deal for the show and really shut up the critics.
BOBBY NORRIS: The show won the BAFTA just before I started and I would have loved to have been there, but I know it was a very proud moment for everyone who works on the show.
What that winning a BAFTA represented, was showing the people who were knocking the show that what we were delivering, there was a want for it.
Enter The GC
As the show got bigger and bigger, Charlie King wondered if he'd ever get the chance to join the cast. And then one day, he received the call he had been waiting for. But before he hit the streets of Brentwood, producers were keen to see what he thought of a certain new star who had just made her mark on the show.
CHARLIE KING: The producers asked me to come in to meet Gemma Collins. She had joined the cast in series three as a car dealer. I remember watching her and instantly thinking, "Wow, she is this larger-than-life exciting character". She had something about her that I was instantly drawn to. She was loud, she was pretty, she was rocking a different look to the other girls, she had her curves, she had the gift of the gab.
At the time, she was after Kirk's dad but when that didn't pan out, they asked me what I thought of Gemma. I said I really like her but said, "She's after all these Essex geezers, maybe I could show her a different side to Essex".
I was invited up to the Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch to speak to the producers. I was there at the bar waiting and then Gemma walked in. It was a like a TOWIE scene only without the cameras.
I obviously recognised her and I think she knew she was being set up as she said, "Are you Charlie? Oh, you're gonna fancy Jess Wright." And I said to her, "Don't be so sure." We had a chat over a soda and lime, and afterwards the producers who had been sitting in the corners watching, asked her what she thought. She was like, "Yeah, he seems nice."
She said she wanted to explore the storyline. And so I was asked to film an episode to see how things went. They said they wanted to see how we got on together on camera as they liked our chemistry. They told us the series was starting up again soon and that we should hold back until then.
The Talk of Doom
Whenever someone is cast on the show, they are given the Talk of Doom, when producers give fledgling reality stars harsh warnings about the negative reactions they may get from the press and public. This was a time when social media platforms like Twitter were taking off and news stories were hitting the headlines about cast members like Sam and Billie Faiers being attacked in the street.
CHARLIE KING: After my scenes with Gemma had aired, the viewer reaction was great. That night my Twitter following went up to 40k and 'Gemma and Charlie' trended on Twitter.
The producers could see our relationship had made viewers happy and so they said they wanted to follow us and see how it would work out for both of us. As I was due to do more filming, producers sat me down for the Talk of Doom. Basically, they are really honest about the way things might turn out.
Because TOWIE was filmed so close to TX we would get immediate reactions from the public. Of course, we were just being ourselves, but the public were seeing the way we were coming across on screen and reacted to that. So the producers would sit us down and flag all this up.
BOBBY NORRIS: Back then, the word troll didn't exist. Who'd have thought it would have spurred me on to set up a petition and going to parliament to stop trolling?
People will always have something to say about someone, whether it's in your office or on the internet! I would never take away freedom of speech but when it becomes something that is clearly homophobic or people are making death threats, that becomes a threat and it's not on.
Luckily ITV and Lime are very good at looking after us [and] have always gone above and beyond with their duty of care.
Diva behaviour
As the show continued to grow in popularity, the stars of the show became media stars, landing big-money photo shoots, travelling the country earning megabucks at PAs, and becoming firm fixtures on TV panel and magazine shows. Unsurprisingly, for some, fame went straight to their heads with reports detailing bad cast behaviour, including Lauren Goodger getting suspended for bad time-keeping.
CHARLIE KING: You cannot describe what your life is like when you are on [a] show like TOWIE, especially when it was riding so high. You lose what's real. You get this sudden fame and that makes life different.
The months between series four and series five were mad for me. If we went to Bluewater, we'd have an army of people who would follow us into Russell & Bromley. The show was also massive up north, and it was hard to get around without someone coming up to you.
EMMA BUNNING: The public absolutely loved the cast. Most of the cast like Gemma and Lydia eventually had shops and fans would be popping in all the time trying to get autographs or pictures. But that's why they opened the shops in the first place because they knew people would come in. So very clever.
RUTH WRIGLEY: The girls on the show were smart and made a lot of money because they realised that as well as TOWIE being a brand, they were too. So Sam and Billie understood the power of wearing a dress on the show and then selling them online. And good luck to them. It was a turning point in the way TV could be exploited by the company producing it, and the people in it, if they were smart enough. I thought it was only ever going to last two series.
MIKE SPENCER: There were divas on set for sure! I think that added to the glam of the show. For the record, I think Lauren Goodger is brilliant. She was genuine and told her story to millions of people at the time. A ten-year relationship breakdown watched by everyone. I thought both her and Mark were really brave.
EMMA BUNNING: There was definitely an emergence of some cast members behaving in a starry fashion. By this stage, they were getting more recognised and they were doing PAs and getting paid around £3,000 to £50,000 at that time, to turn up at Faces nightclub for an hour or two.
When you start getting money like that and people wanting you to attend their bars and you get a big social media following, people do get a bit too big for their boots. But it's kind of expected to be honest.
Some of the cast would be late for filming and would say, "Well, tough shit, you have to wait for me as I'm a star." There was a lot of that going on. There was definitely some diva behaviour, especially some madam moments from some of the girls.
BOBBY NORRIS: A lot of the cast had busy diaries, we were becoming more known and sometimes it might go to some people's heads. But I am always well aware that TOWIE has put me where I am and I get the great opportunities I get, and I am forever grateful for ITV and Lime for the opportunities I do get.
Being phased out
Although the likes of Gemma Collins and Bobby Norris have managed to hang on in the show for years, many members of the cast have found themselves written out, whether they liked it or not.
BOBBY NORRIS: Of course, it's sad when people leave the show. I've seen a lot of people come and go over the years. But it's the nature of the beast. Always expect the unexpected.
EMMA BUNNING: Sadly, you can't afford to be on the sidelines in these shows because then you just won't be on air, and then what's the point? If you want to be big on those shows you need to be seen on screen and to be seen you have to be interesting, you have a strong opinion or you have a bold personality. I don't think the channel ever put the pressure on the cast to do or say things – they simply knew how it worked.
DEMI SIMS: There was never any pressure from producers to come up with storylines. Obviously, you're on TV, so you know you need to have a story to keep people interested. You put yourself under pressure to be part of a main storyline so you can get followers on Instagram.
CHARLIE KING: The producers called me in and told me that they felt that my storyline had come to a natural end. However, they did sense there was something else going on in my life, and I think they were keen for me to finally open up about my sexuality.
I hadn't come out at this point but it was quite obvious. They couldn't force me to do it and it wasn't their place. They were kind of saying like, the Charlie of old has come to an end, but if I wanted to pursue a new direction then that would work for them.
But at that point I wasn't ready and that's one of my biggest regrets. It was about a year before I came out on This Morning. I had to weigh up my real life.
MIKE SPENCER: It's a tricky one. I think Charlie is such a lovely guy. As a gay man myself, you tend to come out when you feel it's your time. Funny story – I actually came out after series two of TOWIE and remember telling Amy Childs at the wrap party and she simply replied, "I could have told you that, honey!" As a show at the time, we would never push someone in a direction that [they] didn't feel comfortable with. Charlie came out when it was right for him and that is the main thing.
CHARLIE KING: After my meeting with them, I was absolutely devastated and when I got the train home, people recognised me on the tube and saw me upset. I texted Bobby and Gemma to tell them I was gone. They were shocked because we were all meant to be going to Las Vegas together.
Gemma says now if I had come out on the show, I would have carried on for a few more years. But I had a good run and they said the door would always be open for me.
RUTH WRIGLEY: I remember when Mark Wright left the show, people were like, 'Is this the end?' And lots of guys came forward to try to be the next Mark Wright. But actually the next Mark Wright – the male lead – was Joey Essex, who couldn't be more different. And he was real!
The legacy
So after ten years TOWIE is still going strong, and has helped spawn the likes of Made in Chelsea, Geordie Shore, The Valleys and Absolutely Ascot. But what impact has TOWIE made on viewers' lives and the television landscape?
RUTH WRIGLEY: I really thought the show would do two series. As a producer, I really believed in it and in my mad head I could see it. I knew that kids weren't watching shows like Corrie or EastEnders any more because the plots had gone from being about people's lives to rapes and murders and plane crashes. The soaps I remembered were character driven.
People are always interested in other people's lives. I think TOWIE can survive if it evolves. Keep it real and it will constantly surprise you.
CHARLIE KING: The most random people liked it. Royalty like Kate Middleton, Hollywood A-listers like Chris Pratt, the show had fans from every walk of life.
DEMI SIMS: It's one of the biggest reality TV shows in the UK. People love watching it. The show has had a big impact on my life. I have done things I never thought I'd do, like Celebs Go Dating. It's all been so exciting.
BOBBY NORRIS: The show has shaped reality TV. We had Big Brother, but we'd never had an ongoing show that has rolled into what it has. It opened the doors for Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore. That's why TOWIE is iconic.
Watching back those old clips, I got emotional and I realised how much I have changed. I've been on the show for a third of my life.
I would love the show to go on for sixty years like Coronation Street. Whether or not people want to see me running around with a Louis Vuitton bag at 74 remains to be seen…
The TOWIE Years is available on ITV Hub.
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