The biggest TOWIE news of 2026 is that series 37 of The Only Way Is Essex premieres on Sunday 26 April 2026 at 9pm on ITV2, with the cast having filmed scenes in Vietnam in February 2026 before returning to Essex for the rest of the series — and Roman Hackett, Matilda Draper, and Sammy Root have all quit the show ahead of the new series, while new faces including 19-year-old twins Joe and Jonnie Gurie are joining the cast. Series 37 comes off the back of a major 2025 milestone: TOWIE celebrated its 15th anniversary with series 36, which also saw the show return to ITV2 after eleven years on the now-closed ITVBe channel.
In this comprehensive guide to TOWIE news, you will find everything you need to know: the confirmed start date and channel details for series 37, the full cast changes including who has left and who is joining, the storylines from series 36 including the landmark Portugal trip and the Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise drama, where to watch all episodes on ITVX, the history of the show from its 2010 debut through to today, profiles of the key current cast members and the famous alumni who launched their careers on Essex’s most glamorous TV export, and a comprehensive FAQ section answering every question fans are asking right now. Whether you are a dedicated fan or catching up after years away, this is the definitive guide to TOWIE in 2026.
TOWIE Series 37: Everything Confirmed
Start Date, Channel, and Time
TOWIE series 37 premieres on Sunday 26 April 2026, at 9pm on ITV2. ITV announced the start date on Monday 13 April 2026, sharing a trailer on Instagram with the caption: “New country, same chaos…and we wouldn’t have it any other way. If it’s not dramatic, is it even Essex?” The series follows the move of TOWIE to ITV2 that began with series 36 — the show had spent eleven years on ITVBe before returning to ITV2 when ITVBe closed in June 2025. Series 37 continues this new ITV2 home, and episodes will also be available to stream on ITVX and STV Player.
The format for series 37 continues the twice-weekly episode pattern established in recent series, with episodes on Sunday and Monday evenings at 9pm — a schedule that gives fans two doses of Essex drama per week and allows the narrative to move at a faster pace than the earlier era of the show, when a single episode per week was the standard. This scheduling pattern also keeps TOWIE competitive in the modern streaming landscape, where binge-watching culture means audiences expect quicker storyline development than was necessary in the pre-streaming era.
The Vietnam Holiday
The opening sequence of series 37 takes the cast to Vietnam — a new and striking destination for the show, continuing TOWIE’s tradition of launching each series or season with a group holiday that both bonds the cast and creates the kind of drama that flows naturally from putting Essex personalities in an unfamiliar setting together. The cast filmed in Vietnam during February 2026, and the ITV trailer released on 13 April gave the first look at scenes from the trip, showing the familiar faces enjoying Vietnamese culture, nightlife, and — inevitably — each other’s company with varying degrees of harmony and conflict.
Vietnam follows a pattern of increasingly exotic and adventurous filming locations for TOWIE’s holiday segments. Series 36 launched with a Portugal trip — the show’s first visit to that country — to mark the 15th anniversary of the series, and previous years have seen cast trips to destinations including Ibiza, Mallorca, New York, Dubai, Thailand, and Australia. The choice of Vietnam represents a further step toward genuinely adventurous travel as the show seeks to remain visually fresh after 37 series and maintain its ability to surprise viewers who have watched the cast grow and change across more than a decade. The combination of Vietnam’s stunning landscapes, street food, historical heritage, and distinctive nightlife provides TOWIE’s production team with a visually compelling backdrop for the relationships, confrontations, and entertainment that the format delivers.
The Final Wrap Party
The final wrap party for series 37 filming took place on Thursday 12 March 2026, marking the completion of the entire filming schedule. The wrap party is a traditional milestone in the TOWIE production calendar — a point at which cast members and crew come together to mark the end of weeks of intensive filming, and one that often generates its own social media content from cast members reflecting on the series. The March 2026 wrap party followed the Vietnam shoot in February and the return to Essex for the final weeks of filming, putting the series on course for the April 2026 premiere date.
Cast Changes for Series 37
Who Has Left TOWIE
Series 37 has seen a significant wave of departures that reshape the cast landscape in ways that will be felt across the series. The three confirmed exits ahead of the new series are Roman Hackett, Matilda Draper, and Sammy Root — three cast members who joined in relatively recent series and who, collectively, represented a significant portion of the show’s newer blood.
Roman Hackett joined TOWIE as part of the show’s ongoing effort to introduce younger cast members from genuine Essex social circles, and his departure represents the loss of a personality who had been building audience recognition over multiple series. Matilda Draper was another newer addition whose exit removes a presence that had been developing storylines across the previous series. Sammy Root — whose relationship with Elma was one of the significant storylines of series 36, with the pair’s split forming a major episode arc — has now left the show entirely.
In addition to these confirmed exits, Chloe Meadows has announced she is taking a break from TOWIE for series 37, rather than departing permanently. Meadows has been a consistent presence on the show for several years and her absence on a temporary basis — rather than a permanent exit — leaves open the possibility of her return in a future series. Freddie Bentley has also appeared absent from filming dates in the lead-up to series 37, though his departure has not been officially confirmed.
Who Is Joining TOWIE
The departures are balanced by new arrivals who bring fresh energy and storylines to what is now a 37th series show that must continually refresh its cast to avoid the staleness that can affect long-running reality television. The most notable new additions for series 37 are the Gurie twins — Joe and Jonnie Gurie, 19-year-old twin brothers whose double arrival represents an unusual and potentially very entertaining casting choice. Twins are a rare occurrence in the TOWIE cast dynamic, and the pair’s youth and dynamic with each other adds a dimension that the show has not previously explored.
Amy Childs’s brother Will Childs has been elevated to a permanent cast member for series 37, following his appearances in series 36. Will’s status as Amy’s brother gives him an immediate storyline connection to one of the show’s longest-serving and most-loved personalities, and his promotion to full cast member reflects the positive audience reception of his series 36 contributions. He is also bringing his friend Josh Francis into the cast — a lateral expansion that adds both a new face and a built-in friendship dynamic that the production can develop into wider group storylines.
Returning Core Cast
The backbone of series 37 is formed by the cast members who have been with the show for multiple series and who provide continuity for long-term viewers. The confirmed returning cast for series 37 includes:
Amy Childs — one of the original 2010 cast members and the only original star still regularly appearing, Amy is now a mother and her personal life — including her 2025/2026 wedding — remains central to the show’s emotional core.
Harry Derbidge — Amy’s cousin and a beloved long-term cast member known for his sharp wit and loyal friendship group.
James “Diags” Bennewith — one of the show’s most reliably entertaining personalities, whose pledge for “good times and good vibes” featured prominently in the series 37 trailer.
Dan Edgar — the subject of one of the most talked-about relationship storylines in recent TOWIE history, his situation with Ella Rae Wise and his rumoured new relationship with former cast member Chloe Lewis generates significant viewer interest heading into series 37.
Ella Rae Wise — The trailer teased “unfinished business” between Ella and Dan, suggesting their post-breakup dynamic will be a major thread of the new series.
Sophie Kasaei — in an exciting personal storyline, Sophie and her partner Jordan Brooks have announced they are expecting their first child together, making their journey to parenthood a warm and emotionally engaging narrative for series 37.
Amber Turner, Courtney Green, Saffron Lempriere, Chloe Brockett, Joe Blackman, Junaid Ahmed, James “Lockie” Lock — all returning cast members who provide the friendship group dynamics, romantic storylines, and inter-personal drama that are TOWIE’s lifeblood.
TOWIE Series 36: The 15th Anniversary Series
Portugal and the Anniversary Celebration
Series 36 of TOWIE was broadcast in autumn 2025 on ITV2 — the show’s first series on ITV2 since 2014, following the closure of ITVBe in June 2025 — and marked the programme’s 15th anniversary with a celebratory Portugal holiday. This was the first time TOWIE had filmed in Portugal, and the choice of the destination reflected both the show’s ongoing ambition to visit new countries and the desire to mark the 15th anniversary with something genuinely special. The group holiday format that opens most TOWIE series serves the dual purpose of bringing the cast together in a controlled environment that generates drama, and providing viewers with a visually exciting start to the season.
Series 36 consisted of nine episodes (including two specials) as confirmed in ITV’s announcement, making it a tighter, more concentrated series than some previous editions. The twice-weekly episode schedule (Sunday and Monday, 9pm) was maintained, giving viewers rapid narrative development and keeping the show competitive in the modern broadcast landscape where attention is fiercely competed for by streaming platforms. ITV’s streaming service ITVX provided on-demand access for all episodes, extending the show’s reach to viewers who could not watch at the scheduled broadcast time.
The Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise Saga
The dominant storyline of series 36 — and the one that has generated the most social media engagement and fan discussion leading into series 37 — is the complex and unresolved relationship between Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise. Dan Edgar is one of TOWIE’s most consistently popular male cast members, known for his calm demeanour and his central position in multiple series’ romantic storylines over many years. Ella Rae Wise is a more recent addition who became one of the most prominent personalities in the show during her time on it.
Their post-breakup relationship — navigating the awkwardness of remaining in the same social group while their feelings, respective new connections, and the opinions of friends around them added layers of complexity — provided series 36 with a romantic core that kept viewers emotionally invested across the series arc. The series 37 trailer explicitly teased “unfinished business” between Dan and Ella, and separately referenced Dan’s rumoured new relationship with Chloe Lewis — a former TOWIE cast member returning to orbit around the show — adding another layer of intrigue for viewers to follow.
The Freddie vs Jordan Drama
One of the most explosive conflict storylines of series 36 was the escalating feud between Freddie Bentley and Jordan Brooks, with Harry Derbidge taking sides and the entire friendship group dividing into camps over the dispute. Reality television drama operates on the engine of social group fractures — the moment when friendships split and loyalties are tested — and the Freddie vs Jordan conflict provided exactly this structural tension, pulling other cast members into choosing sides and creating the kind of interpersonal complexity that keeps viewers engaged across multiple episodes.
The resolution — or non-resolution — of this conflict going into series 37 is one of the key dramatic questions the new series inherits from its predecessor, particularly given Freddie’s apparent absence from recent filming dates, which suggests the dynamic may have changed significantly between the filming of the two series.
Amy Childs Marries
A significant personal milestone celebrated across TOWIE’s 2025-26 period is Amy Childs’s marriage — a life event that connects directly to her status as the show’s most prominent link to its original 2010 cast. Amy has been referenced in the series 37 preview materials as “newly married,” suggesting her wedding took place between the filming of series 36 and series 37. This life event gives Amy, who has been one of the show’s emotional anchors for years, a fresh personal storyline that connects her current chapter — marriage, motherhood, the full arc of adult life — to the young woman viewers first met in 2010. Her personal journey from vajazzle pioneer to married mother is one of the most complete and compelling individual arcs in British reality television history.
Where TOWIE Airs: Channel and Streaming
The Move Back to ITV2
TOWIE’s return to ITV2 for series 36 and 37 is one of the most significant structural changes in the show’s history since it first aired on ITV2 in October 2010. The show spent eleven years on ITVBe — the digital channel ITV created in 2014 specifically targeting a female 16–34 demographic — before returning to ITV2 when ITVBe was closed in June 2025. The closure of ITVBe consolidated several shows back onto ITV2, and the return to the channel where TOWIE was born carries a symbolic resonance for long-term fans.
ITV2 has a significantly larger average audience reach than ITVBe had in its later years, and the move gives TOWIE more visibility within the ITV portfolio and stronger promotional support. The channel reaches a broader audience beyond the core TOWIE fanbase, and being part of ITV2’s regular prime-time schedule (rather than a specialist digital channel) increases the show’s chance of reaching casual viewers who might engage with it if they encounter it while browsing. For ITV, TOWIE’s return to ITV2 provides a reliable, high-engagement reality format to anchor the channel’s Sunday and Monday 9pm slots.
Watching TOWIE on ITVX
ITVX — ITV’s free streaming platform — is the primary on-demand destination for TOWIE in the UK. All current and past series of TOWIE are available to stream on ITVX, including series 36 in full, previous series going back through the archive, and series 37 episodes which will be available on ITVX after their ITV2 broadcast. ITVX is free to use for UK residents and does not require a subscription — it is funded by advertising, meaning viewers watch a small number of adverts during streaming. An ITVX Premium subscription is available for an additional monthly fee that removes adverts.
STV Player — the Scottish equivalent of ITVX, available to viewers in Scotland — also carries TOWIE for Scottish viewers. For viewers outside the UK, access to ITVX is restricted by geographic rights, though VPN services are widely used by international fans to access the platform.
How to Catch Up on Previous Series
For new viewers or those who want to revisit older TOWIE moments before series 37, the ITVX library provides a substantial back catalogue. Older series of TOWIE represent an extraordinary time capsule of British popular culture — the early series (2010–2012) featuring original cast members including Mark Wright, Amy Childs, Lauren Goodger, Kirk Norcross, and the rest of the debut ensemble are fascinating viewing in retrospect, both for the nostalgia they provide to fans of that era and for the stark changes in fashion, beauty standards, and cultural reference points they document. The format itself has barely changed despite the complete turnover of cast — which reflects the strength of TOWIE’s structural concept as a vehicle for Essex social drama rather than its dependence on any individual personalities.
The History of TOWIE
October 2010: Where It All Started
The Only Way Is Essex premiered on ITV2 on 10 October 2010 — a Sunday evening — and within weeks had become a genuine cultural phenomenon. The first series consisted of 10 episodes of 30 minutes each, supplemented by a Christmas special, and introduced viewers to the Essex social world of Brentwood, Chigwell, and surrounding areas through a format that ITV described as “real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way.” This scripted reality format — different from both traditional reality television (where situations develop organically) and conventional drama (where scripts are fully written) — placed TOWIE in a new genre that would go on to spawn numerous imitators across the British television landscape.
The original cast assembled for series 1 reads now like a roll call of early 2010s British pop culture: Amy Childs, Mark Wright, Lauren Goodger, Kirk Norcross, Lucy Mecklenburg, Lydia Bright, Joey Essex, Sam and Billie Faiers, Bobby Norris, and Mario Falcone were among the personalities who made TOWIE’s first series a word-of-mouth sensation. The show’s combination of Essex glamour — false tan, dramatic lashes, boutique shopping, vajazzles, and the particular colour palette of Brentwood nightlife — with genuinely compelling personal stories gave it a dual appeal that transcended the genre’s usual demographic limits.
The 2011 BAFTA Win
On 22 May 2011, TOWIE won the Audience Award at the BAFTA Television Awards — a prestigious recognition that confirmed the show was not simply a disposable reality television novelty but a genuinely culturally significant programme. The BAFTA win was widely covered and gave TOWIE a credibility that reality formats rarely achieve from the British television establishment. It also demonstrated the power of its fanbase: the Audience Award is determined by public vote, meaning the win reflected the genuine enthusiasm of millions of viewers rather than the judgement of broadcasting professionals alone.
The BAFTA recognition accelerated TOWIE’s influence on British popular culture. Within a year of the award, multiple similar scripted reality formats had been commissioned by rival channels — Made in Chelsea on Channel 4 (which premiered in May 2011) being the most direct and enduring competitor, adapted to a wealthier, more Sloane-ish social milieu. Geordie Shore (MTV UK), Desperate Scousewives (Channel 4), and several others followed, each attempting to apply the TOWIE formula to different regional social settings. None achieved quite the cultural dominance of the original, though Made in Chelsea has proven the most durable competitor.
From ITV2 to ITVBe and Back
The most significant structural change in TOWIE’s broadcasting history — before the 2025 return to ITV2 — was the move to ITVBe in October 2014. ITV created ITVBe specifically as a digital channel targeting a female 16–34 demographic, and TOWIE was its flagship programme. The move was commercially sensible for ITV — it gave the network a dedicated channel for reality and lifestyle content, with TOWIE as the anchor. For the show itself, the move to a smaller channel with a lower average audience meant reduced mainstream visibility, though its core fanbase followed it enthusiastically to the new channel.
ITVBe operated for eleven years, closing in June 2025. The closure was part of ITV’s broader digital strategy — consolidating content onto fewer channels to concentrate audiences and reduce the costs of maintaining multiple digital channel brands. TOWIE’s return to ITV2 brought it back to its original home, and series 36’s performance on ITV2 in autumn 2025 confirmed that the move had been both commercially and creatively beneficial.
The Cast Through the Years
One of TOWIE’s most remarkable characteristics is the near-complete turnover of its cast across 37 series while maintaining the same essential formula and audience loyalty. Of the original 2010 cast, only Amy Childs (who left briefly after series 1 for a presenting career before returning to TOWIE in later years) has a continuing connection to the show. Mark Wright left after series 3 to pursue a presenting career, subsequently hosting entertainment programmes and marrying actress Michelle Keegan. Lauren Goodger, Joey Essex, the Faiers sisters, Lucy Mecklenburg, and Kirk Norcross all departed across the first four series as their profiles grew large enough to sustain careers beyond the show.
Subsequent waves of cast members became the defining faces of different TOWIE eras: the era of Arg (James Argent) and Lydia Bright’s on-off romance, the era of Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet, the era of Dan Edgar’s complex romantic entanglements, and the current generation represented by the likes of Junaid Ahmed, Jordan Brooks, and the incoming twins. Each generation of cast carries the TOWIE brand into new social circles and storyline territories, while the underlying format — Essex people, glamour, romance, friendship, and the occasional spectacular row — remains utterly consistent.
Key Current Cast Profiles
Amy Childs: The Original Essex Girl
Amy Childs is the thread that connects TOWIE’s 2010 debut to its 37th series in 2026 — the only cast member whose personal narrative spans the show’s entire existence as a programme. She was 20 years old when series 1 aired, an Essex beautician whose combination of glamour, warmth, and completely unapologetic personality made her an instant television star. She left the main cast after series 1 to pursue presenting opportunities, including her own ITVBe show, but has returned to TOWIE on multiple occasions and in recent series has become one of its most important anchor personalities.
In 2025-26, Amy is a mother to children including twins she welcomed with her partner, and her marriage — confirmed in the series 37 build-up — adds another chapter to what is by any measure one of the most eventful personal lives chronicled by any single British reality television personality. Her combination of longevity, genuine warmth, and the specific quality of being genuinely interested in other people’s lives — rather than simply broadcasting her own — makes her one of TOWIE’s most valuable cast members at any stage of the show’s history.
Dan Edgar: Essex’s Most Enigmatic Romantic Lead
Dan Edgar has been one of TOWIE’s most consistently watched personalities across multiple series, occupying the role of the show’s primary male romantic lead — a position characterised by genuine emotional complexity rather than simple hero/villain dynamics. His relationships with various TOWIE cast members have provided multiple series with their emotional cores, and his post-breakup dynamic with Ella Rae Wise going into series 37 — combined with the rumoured involvement of Chloe Lewis — gives the new series one of its most immediately compelling storylines.
Edgar’s appeal to TOWIE’s audience lies partly in his genuine emotional intelligence relative to the stereotype of the Essex male personality, and partly in the authentic uncertainty that his relationship choices carry. He is not a simple character, and the show benefits from the fact that viewers cannot easily predict what he will do next.
Junaid Ahmed: TOWIE’s Breakout Personality
Junaid Ahmed is one of the most popular personalities to join TOWIE in recent years, having become a fan favourite through his combination of sharp wit, genuine emotional honesty, and the authentic warmth of his friendships within the cast group. His relationship with Joe Blackman — which produced one of the show’s most emotionally resonant storylines in the most recent series, drawing 8.5 million viewers to stream the drama of Harry and Joe’s break-up and the subsequent development of Joe and Junaid’s relationship — demonstrated that TOWIE remains capable of producing storylines that genuinely move viewers rather than simply entertaining them.
The inclusion of a prominent gay male relationship at the heart of TOWIE’s main storylines represents an evolution in the show’s scope that reflects broader changes in British society and television representation. For a show that began with a cast and audience profile rooted in specific Essex heterosexual social dynamics, the genuine and enthusiastic embrace of Junaid and Joe’s relationship by the audience demonstrates the show’s capacity to grow.
Sophie Kasaei and Jordan Brooks: Expecting
One of the most joyful personal storylines heading into series 37 is Sophie Kasaei and Jordan Brooks’s announcement that they are expecting their first child together. This pregnancy will feature prominently in series 37 — both as a personal milestone to celebrate and as a storyline that connects to the wider cast’s relationships and responses. Sophie has been a familiar TOWIE face for several years, and her journey through this significant life chapter — filmed and shared with the show’s audience in real time — provides the warmth and genuine emotional engagement that balances TOWIE’s more dramatic conflict storylines.
Practical Information: Watching TOWIE
When and Where to Watch Series 37
TOWIE series 37 begins on Sunday 26 April 2026 at 9pm on ITV2. Episodes air twice weekly on Sunday and Monday at 9pm. All episodes are available to stream on ITVX immediately after broadcast — and in many cases, episodes are made available on ITVX before their scheduled linear broadcast time for premium subscribers.
To watch ITVX, simply visit ITVX.com or download the free ITVX app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. No subscription is required to access TOWIE on ITVX — the service is free, supported by advertising. ITVX Premium (paid subscription) removes adverts for those who prefer ad-free streaming. The app is available on all major devices including Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and streaming sticks such as Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast.
Watching Old TOWIE Episodes
All previous series of TOWIE are available on ITVX, making it the complete archive for the show’s back catalogue. This includes the original 2010 series featuring the debut cast, the landmark series of the mid-2010s when the show was at its peak cultural influence, and all series through to 36. Scottish viewers access TOWIE through STV Player, the Scottish equivalent of ITVX. Both platforms are free and ad-supported.
TOWIE on Social Media
TOWIE has a strong official social media presence across all major platforms. The official TOWIE accounts on X (Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok provide previews, behind-the-scenes content, and real-time engagement with fans during broadcast. Individual cast members maintain their own large followings — Amy Childs, Junaid Ahmed, Dan Edgar, and others each have millions of followers across their personal accounts — and the social media ecosystem around TOWIE is one of the most active of any British reality show. Following both the official TOWIE accounts and individual cast members provides the most complete picture of news, drama, and developments between and during series.
Cost of Watching TOWIE
Watching TOWIE is free of charge in the UK. The show airs on ITV2 (free-to-air, accessible via Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media), and is available without subscription on ITVX and STV Player. The only costs associated with watching the show are the usual costs of internet access for streaming, or a television licence for watching live broadcasts. ITVX Premium, which removes adverts, is available at a monthly subscription fee if viewers prefer an ad-free experience, but this is entirely optional and TOWIE is fully accessible without it.
TOWIE Alumni: Where Are They Now?
Mark Wright
Mark Wright left TOWIE after series 3 in 2011 and has built one of the most successful post-TOWIE careers of any cast member. He subsequently appeared on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, competed in the 2011 series, and has since carved out a successful career as a presenter and radio host. He married actress Michelle Keegan in 2015 and the couple are one of the most high-profile celebrity partnerships in the UK, with both maintaining strong individual profiles. Wright also completed the 2022 Boston Marathon and has been open about his fitness journey and cancer scare in recent years. He remains probably the most commercially successful alumnus of the original TOWIE cast.
Amy Childs’ Post-TOWIE Career
Though Amy returned to TOWIE and remains part of it, her career beyond the show has included presenting her own programmes, building a successful beauty business, publishing a book, and navigating the public aspects of her personal life including her relationships and her children. She represents the model of a TOWIE cast member who has built a sustainable multi-faceted career beyond the show while maintaining her connection to it — a balance that has proven harder for some cast members who left and struggled to find equally high-profile platforms.
Joey Essex
Joey Essex — one of the most naturally entertaining personalities to emerge from TOWIE’s early series — left the show after series 10 in 2014 and has built a career combining reality television appearances (including I’m a Celebrity, Celebrity Big Brother, Love Island, Strictly Come Dancing, and Celebrity MasterChef), brand partnerships, and his own fashion brand. He remains one of the most recognisable TOWIE alumni in the public consciousness, and his combination of genuine naivety and warmth has given him a distinctive personality that translates across formats.
The Faiers Sisters
Sam and Billie Faiers both left TOWIE to pursue careers that expanded significantly through their own reality programmes — The Mummy Diaries followed both sisters through their personal lives as mothers, and both have maintained high public profiles through a combination of television, social media, and brand partnerships. Billie married footballer Greg Shepherd and Sam married Paul Knightley. Both have children and both continue to build substantial digital media careers through their social media platforms and associated commercial activities.
TOWIE’s Cultural Impact and Legacy
How TOWIE Changed British Television
When The Only Way Is Essex premiered in October 2010, it did more than simply launch a successful entertainment programme — it redefined the grammar of British reality television and created a format that has been imitated, discussed, and studied in the years since. The scripted reality genre that TOWIE pioneered — with real people in structured situations, saying authentic things rather than performing written dialogue — struck the precise balance between the intimacy of genuine documentary and the narrative coherence of drama. Before TOWIE, reality television in the UK was dominated by game show formats (Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, The X Factor) where the drama emerged from competition rather than social dynamics. TOWIE created a new model in which social life itself — the friendships, romances, arguments, and everyday interactions of a specific community — was the entertainment.
The show also created an entirely new model of celebrity. The TOWIE cast members became famous not for a talent, a skill, or a competitive achievement but for being themselves — and being themselves in ways that millions of viewers found entertaining, relatable, or aspirational. This model of social-media-native, lifestyle-brand-building celebrity — where fame derived from reality television is immediately monetised through Instagram followers, sponsored content, personal appearances, and brand deals — is now so ubiquitous that it seems unremarkable, but TOWIE’s first cast were genuinely among the pioneers of what is now the dominant mode of celebrity culture in the UK.
The Essex Effect: Cultural Representation
TOWIE arrived at a moment when the discourse around class, regionalism, and cultural representation in British media was particularly charged. The show was immediately characterised — by supporters and critics alike — as a celebration of Essex life, Essex culture, and the specific version of working-class aspiration and conspicuous consumption associated with the county’s suburban towns. Essex had already accumulated a significant cultural mythology by 2010, much of it negative — the “Essex girl” stereotype, the jokes about fake tans and white stilettos, the associations with upwardly-mobile Thatcherite aspiration — and TOWIE both engaged with and complicated this mythology.
The criticism that TOWIE reinforced negative stereotypes about Essex and its residents was a consistent feature of coverage from the show’s earliest episodes. Essex locals and the county council expressed discomfort with what they saw as an unflattering and partial representation. Kirk Norcross’s defence — “We are all from Essex, so this is Essex. It’s not acting” — captures the tension perfectly: to what extent does a documentary-style programme create the reality it depicts, and to what extent does it simply reveal what was already there? Fifteen years on, TOWIE’s relationship with Essex has matured. The show is now genuinely part of the county’s identity — its filming locations in Brentwood, Chigwell, and Chelmsford are tourist draws, and the TOWIE brand has become one of the things people associate positively with Essex rather than simply a source of embarrassment.
TOWIE’s Influence on Subsequent Shows
Made in Chelsea — which premiered on Channel 4 in May 2011, just seven months after TOWIE — was the most direct and transparent response to TOWIE’s success. Channel 4 commissioned a show applying exactly the same scripted reality format to a different social milieu: wealthy, privately educated young Londoners in the King’s Road, Mayfair, and Chelsea social circuit. Made in Chelsea has proven surprisingly durable — running to 31+ series as of 2026 — and has produced several of its own significant alumni, most notably Spencer Matthews and his wife Vogue Williams.
Geordie Shore (MTV UK, launched May 2011) applied the format to Newcastle’s clubbing culture, with a more explicitly rowdy and sexually uninhibited approach that deliberately targeted younger viewers who wanted something more transgressive than TOWIE’s relatively mainstream appeal. Desperate Scousewives (Channel 4, 2011) attempted a Liverpool equivalent that did not survive beyond two series. Subsequent years brought Ex on the Beach, Love Island, and ultimately the entire landscape of modern British relationship reality television — a genre in which TOWIE’s format innovations are the foundational text.
TOWIE Filming Locations: Essex’s Real Setting
Brentwood: The Heart of TOWIE Country
Brentwood, the Essex town located approximately 20 miles east of London along the A12 and M25 corridors, is the primary setting and spiritual home of TOWIE. The town’s high street, its restaurants, bars, clubs, beauty salons, and the surrounding residential areas of Shenfield, Hutton, and Ingatestone have provided the backdrop for thousands of TOWIE scenes across 37 series. Brentwood Sugar Hut — a nightclub that was effectively a co-star of the early TOWIE series — was one of the most recognisable filming locations and became a genuine tourist attraction during the show’s peak cultural influence.
The geography of TOWIE’s Essex is broader than just Brentwood — cast members have businesses and homes across the county, and filming takes place in Chigwell (associated with the wealthier end of the Essex social spectrum), Chelmsford, Loughton, and South Woodham Ferrers, among other locations. The show’s production team manages filming relationships with local businesses, restaurants, and venues across this area, with many locations becoming associated with specific cast members over multiple series. For fans who visit Essex hoping to recognise TOWIE locations, the Brentwood town centre is the most concentrated area of familiar settings.
The Holiday Filming Locations Through the Years
TOWIE’s annual holiday episodes have taken the cast to an increasingly diverse range of international destinations across the show’s history, and these holiday episodes are consistently among the most-watched and most-discussed of each series. The holiday format works for several reasons: it removes cast members from the familiar comfort of their home environment, increases close contact and thus opportunities for conflict, provides visually spectacular settings that contrast with Essex, and creates situations (nightlife, parties, romantic moments, and arguments by swimming pools) that are inherently dramatic.
Among the destinations TOWIE has filmed in over its history are Mallorca (multiple visits), Ibiza (multiple visits), New York (for a landmark transatlantic trip), Dubai, Marbella, Thailand, Australia, and most recently Portugal (series 36, first visit, 2025) and Vietnam (series 37, 2026). Each new destination generates its own set of stories — the cultural contrasts, the logistics of getting the entire cast and production team to far-flung locations, and the specific dynamics of spending an intensive period together abroad — that feed into the broader series narrative.
TOWIE Stars and Their Businesses
The Commercial Empire Beyond the Show
One of the most significant and underappreciated aspects of TOWIE’s cultural legacy is the extraordinary range of businesses that former and current cast members have built using their television platform as a launchpad. The TOWIE cast have collectively demonstrated that reality television fame can be converted into substantial commercial enterprises across multiple sectors, creating a business model that has been studied and replicated by cast members of subsequent reality shows.
Amy Childs’s salon business — built on her pre-TOWIE beautician expertise and massively amplified by her television profile — was one of the earliest examples of a TOWIE cast member successfully translating television fame into a lasting commercial operation. Mark Wright built a fitness brand and radio presenting career. Joey Essex has maintained a fashion brand (his FUSEY clothing line), multiple brand partnerships, and a regular media presence across television formats. The Faiers sisters — Sam and Billie — have collectively built one of the most substantial influencer-and-media businesses of any TOWIE alumni, with millions of combined social media followers and commercial partnerships spanning home, fashion, beauty, and family lifestyle sectors.
The pattern is consistent enough that TOWIE itself functions as something of a business accelerator for Essex entrepreneurialism — providing its cast members with the public profile, social media following, and commercial credibility to launch and sustain business ventures that might never have succeeded without the television platform. This commercial dimension is part of why cast members seek to join the show (the exposure and commercial opportunities it creates) and part of why ITV values it (the content and social media activity of commercially active cast members generates ongoing publicity for the show beyond its broadcast dates).
Beauty, Fashion, and Social Media
The beauty and fashion sectors have proven most receptive to TOWIE-born entrepreneurs, reflecting both the cast’s genuine expertise and interest in these areas and the highly visual nature of the platforms (Instagram, TikTok) on which their followings are most concentrated. Former cast members routinely have their own fashion collections (often produced in collaboration with established retailers), beauty product lines, and hair and nail brands. Current cast members use their TOWIE profiles to build personal brand deals with established brands in cosmetics, fashion retail, teeth whitening, and related lifestyle categories.
This commercial ecosystem means that TOWIE exists at the centre of a substantial influencer economy — the show is not just a television programme but a content-generating machine whose cast produce social media material that reaches audiences many times larger than the linear television audience. The social media following of the entire TOWIE cast collectively runs into tens of millions across all platforms, and the brands that work with them understand that TOWIE association carries a specific and commercially valuable demographic targeting capability in the 16–34 female demographic that has been the show’s core audience since 2010.
Series by Series: The TOWIE Timeline
The Early Years (2010-2013): The Cultural Phenomenon
The first three series of TOWIE (2010-2011) established the show as a genuine British cultural phenomenon — the BAFTA Audience Award in 2011 was the external confirmation of something that was already obvious from viewing figures, tabloid coverage, and the intensity of public interest in the cast. The show’s key figures in this period — Amy Childs, Mark Wright, Lauren Goodger, and the love triangle between them — provided the kind of easily understood, highly dramatic interpersonal structure that captures broad audiences. The early TOWIE was more raw, less polished, and in some ways more spontaneous than later series, reflecting both the newness of the format and the genuine novelty of the cast’s television experience.
Series 4 through 8 (2012-2013) saw the original cast begin to fragment — Mark Wright left, Amy Childs left and returned, Kirk Norcross departed — as success created opportunities that took cast members away from the show. New faces including Bobby Norris, Chloe Sims, and Ricky Rayment joined to maintain momentum. Joey Essex emerged as one of the show’s most naturally entertaining personalities in this period, his combination of genuine naivety (he famously struggled with basic knowledge such as reading a clock) and warm charm creating a character that transcended the usual TOWIE personality types.
The Middle Period (2014-2019): ITVBe and Evolution
The move to ITVBe in October 2014 opened a new chapter in TOWIE’s story. With the show now on a dedicated lifestyle channel, the production expanded its international holiday episodes, developed more sophisticated ongoing storylines, and built new cast generations. The Megan McKenna era (2015-2017), the Tommy Mallet and Georgia Kousoulou relationship, and the long-running storyline around James Argent and Lydia Bright’s on-off relationship were among the defining narratives of this period. The show’s audience stabilised at a dedicated core rather than the mass mainstream audience of the early years, but this core was deeply engaged and commercially valuable to ITV.
The Recent Era (2020-2025): Pandemic and Return
The COVID-19 pandemic created unique challenges for TOWIE’s production in 2020, requiring the show to film within significant restrictions that limited location work and international travel. The show adapted creatively, finding ways to document cast members’ lives during lockdown and the specific social dramas that the pandemic generated. The post-pandemic return saw a more travel-oriented approach as the show sought to recapture the visual excitement of international filming locations after years of restriction.
The 15th anniversary in 2025 — marked by the Portugal trip in series 36 and the return to ITV2 — represented a moment of genuine reflection on what TOWIE has been, what it continues to be, and what 15 years of a television format that captures the lives of real people actually means for both the participants and the audience.
FAQs
When does TOWIE series 37 start?
TOWIE series 37 starts on Sunday 26 April 2026 at 9pm on ITV2. ITV confirmed the date on 13 April 2026 via social media, sharing a trailer featuring scenes from the cast’s Vietnam filming trip and teasing upcoming storylines including Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise’s unfinished business and Diags’s pledge for “good times and good vibes.” Episodes also stream on ITVX immediately after broadcast.
Who has left TOWIE for series 37?
Three cast members have confirmed they are leaving TOWIE ahead of series 37: Roman Hackett, Matilda Draper, and Sammy Root have all quit the show. Chloe Meadows has announced she is taking a break for series 37 rather than departing permanently, leaving open the possibility of her return. Freddie Bentley’s status is also unclear after his apparent absence from recent filming dates, though no official departure announcement has been made.
Who are the new TOWIE cast members in series 37?
New faces joining TOWIE for series 37 include 19-year-old twins Joe and Jonnie Gurie — the most notable new additions. Amy Childs’s brother Will Childs has been elevated from his series 36 guest appearance to a permanent cast member, and he is bringing his friend Josh Francis into the show alongside him.
Where is TOWIE series 37 filmed?
TOWIE series 37 is filmed in two main locations: Vietnam and Essex. The cast travelled to Vietnam in February 2026 for the group holiday that kicks off the series — the show’s first time filming in Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, filming continued in Essex (primarily around Brentwood, Chigwell, and the surrounding areas) through to the final wrap party on 12 March 2026.
What channel is TOWIE on?
TOWIE is on ITV2 from series 36 onwards — the show returned to ITV2 in 2025 after eleven years on ITVBe, following the closure of ITVBe in June 2025. Episodes air twice weekly on Sunday and Monday at 9pm. TOWIE is also available to stream on ITVX and STV Player. Scottish viewers can access it through STV Player. Previous series are available in the ITVX archive.
What happened in TOWIE series 36?
Series 36 of TOWIE — the 15th anniversary series — aired on ITV2 in autumn 2025 and opened with the cast’s first trip to Portugal. The series featured the Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise post-breakup drama, the split of Sammy Root and Elma which generated a major episode arc, and the escalating feud between Freddie Bentley and Jordan Brooks that divided the friendship group. 8.5 million viewers streamed the Harry and Joe drama and the subsequent development of Joe and Junaid Ahmed’s relationship. Amy Childs announced her marriage during this period.
Where can I watch TOWIE?
TOWIE is available free to watch live on ITV2 (accessible via Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media) and to stream free of charge on ITVX (itvx.com) and via the ITVX app. Scottish viewers can access it via STV Player. No subscription is required for the basic ITVX service. All previous series of TOWIE are available to stream on ITVX’s archive. ITVX Premium (paid subscription) provides ad-free viewing for those who prefer it.
Is Amy Childs still on TOWIE?
Yes — Amy Childs remains on TOWIE and is confirmed as part of the series 37 cast. She is the most significant link between TOWIE’s original 2010 debut and the current 2026 series. Amy was part of the original cast in series 1 before leaving briefly and returning to the show multiple times over the years. In 2025-26 she is referenced as “newly married” in the series 37 build-up, and her personal life continues to be one of the show’s most warm and engaging storylines.
What is the Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise drama?
Dan Edgar and Ella Rae Wise’s relationship was one of the dominant storylines of TOWIE series 36, with their post-breakup dynamic — navigating feelings, new potential relationships, and the opinions of their shared friend group — providing the show with its central romantic tension. The series 37 trailer explicitly teased “unfinished business” between them, suggesting the storyline continues into the new series. Additionally, Dan is rumoured to have a new relationship with former cast member Chloe Lewis, adding a further layer of complexity that will likely feature prominently.
Is TOWIE scripted or real?
TOWIE occupies the “scripted reality” or “constructed reality” genre — distinct from both fully scripted television drama and fully spontaneous reality television. The format involves real people (the cast members) who are placed in real social situations (locations, relationship dynamics, group events) and asked to discuss and interact authentically, but the situations themselves are structured by producers and some conversations are shaped in advance. ITV’s own description of the format is “real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way.” The relationships, friendships, and conflicts are genuine — they are not invented by writers — but the filming context shapes when and how they are documented.
How many series of TOWIE have there been?
As of 2026, there have been 36 complete series of TOWIE plus series 37, which premieres in April 2026. The show also has numerous Christmas specials and one-off special episodes throughout its history. TOWIE first aired in October 2010, making 2025 its 15th anniversary — marked by the Portugal trip in series 36. The show has maintained its twice-yearly series pattern for most of its run, with Christmas specials in many years adding additional episodes beyond the main series runs.
Who narrates TOWIE?
TOWIE has been narrated by Denise van Outen since its inception in 2010. Van Outen’s warm, witty narration has been a consistent feature of every series across the show’s entire 15-year-plus run — one of the most recognisable elements of the TOWIE format and a key part of the show’s distinctive tone. Her narration provides context, delivers comedic asides, and holds the episodic structure together, making her an integral part of the show despite never appearing on camera.
The Show That Will Not Stop
At 37 series and counting, TOWIE has outlasted many of the formats it inspired, survived the closure of its dedicated channel, navigated the transition to a streaming-first media landscape, and continues to attract new cast members and retain a loyal audience. The secret of its longevity is probably the simplest possible one: Essex keeps generating interesting people, and interesting people keep generating compelling stories. The format — real people, real places, structured situations — is flexible enough to accommodate enormous changes in cast, culture, and media environment while the underlying engine of human drama remains constant. Series 37’s Vietnam opening, its new twins, its ongoing romantic storylines, and its permanent core of long-serving cast members will do what every TOWIE series has done since October 2010: take viewers inside a social world that is familiar enough to be comforting and dramatic enough to be unmissable.
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