OPINION
THE ONLY WAY IS OUT
I’ve watched all 34 TOWIE series – I was a huge fan but now it’s a tragic flop, the ‘tears’ & fake dating are nauseating
Scroll down for Harry and Ella's relationship timeline
ALTHOUGH I hate to admit it, I used to be TOWIE’s biggest fan.
I’ve watched all 34 series - from back in the Amy Childs 'vajazzle’ days to the now boring and overdone set-up storylines.
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Whilst many will never confess to liking the reality show, which is set in Brentwood, Essex, I’ve never been afraid to share that I’ll spend hours binge-watching the show.
But after watching The Only Way Is Essex for the past 14 years, since my early teens, I can safely say, I’m bored. Bored stiff.
Long are the days of the iconic cast, whereby we saw heartthrob Mark Wright and sisters Sam and Billie Faiers partying in the iconic Sugar Hut bar.
The Gemma Collins line ‘you ain’t ever gonna get this candy’ will go down in history and Joey Essex’s ‘reem’ catchphrase is one still being used to this day.
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But now, TOWIE is giving…nothing - and if you ask me, the only way is OUT for the show.
Yes ok we’ve still got Amy Childs, 34, and the odd scene with Lauren Goodger, 38, but the once iconic show now just doesn’t have the same feel.
It’s getting worse and worse by the season and what was once a somewhat quite funny and light-hearted programme to combat the Sunday scaries, is now dull enough to send you to sleep.
Long gone are the Essex legends - James Argent, Mario Falcone, Danielle Armstrong, Lydia Bright, Bobby Norris, Elliott Wright, Pete Wicks and Ferne McCann - to name a few.
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Whilst I think producers thought a new generation of youngsters would save the show, in my opinion, it’s had the opposite effect.
Instead of the famous faces we all know and love, we’ve now got so many new, young faces that I simply can’t keep up.
Watch the heartbreaking moment Towie’s Harry breaks down in floods of tears as fiance’s secret sex is revealed
Thankfully their names flash up on the screen, as most of the haven’t-made-it-yets all look the same too.
Some of them joined at the young age of just 17, far too young in my opinion, and now, not even this amount of filler can smooth out the show’s cracks.
Five minutes of fame
Not only have the majority of the fame-hungry youngsters had far too much surgery, including 25-year-old Dani Imbert’s dangerous BBL, and 24-year-old Ella Rae Wise’s boob job that left her without sensation in her breasts, but one thing is for sure, they’re clearly extremely eager for their five minutes of ‘fame’.
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Brunette bombshells Livvy and Becky joined the show earlier this year, but if you ask me, they’re just recycled Chloe Brocketts.
At least with Chloe Brockett, 23, the drama was actually quite entertaining, but with these girls, they haven’t had that much to say.
Mind-numbing gossip
Now, every episode is pretty much the same - the same boring storylines and the same people having the same arguments, over and over again, just in different locations.
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Whilst Courtney Green bravely opened up on her nephew’s heartbreaking fatal diagnosis in a recent episode, aside from that, every hour-long programme is pretty much exactly the same - mind-numbing gossip.
Yes ok, I get that it’s a reality show. It’s not a hard-hitting news programme.
But the content is such a flop. Even TOWIE legend, Gemma Collins, thinks that the only way is down for the show.
The 43-year-old branded the show as ‘terrible’ and told how the show has lost its star power.
She laughed: “I watched it the other night and I’ll never get those minutes of my life back. What’s happened?
“There were about two scenes in it…“There’s no stars there, darling – we were stars.”
The GC insisted that she would never be lured back, as she added: “Being in those toxic arguing environments... it’s a load of c**p.”
'How is TOWIE still on our screens?'
And it's not just the GC who's done with the show.
After a quick look on social media, particularly after last night's over-dramatised episode, it appears that fans are done too.
One viewer admitted: “I feel genuinely embarrassed to say I watch it.”
A second chimed in: “They’re making it hard for me to justify why I watch this."
Whilst someone else slammed: “This programme is absolutely rubbish.”
At the same time, another asked: “Serious question, who actually watches TOWIE any more? I get little snippets on TikTok and it’s so repetitive.
"It’s the exact same story lines, again and again. How is TOWIE still on our screens?”
Fake dating
And after the recent news that TOWIE star Ella Rae Wise, 24, has split from Dan Edgar, 34, I can’t say I’m shocked.
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I’ve spent countless hours watching their ‘relationship’ evolve, only for him to turn around and say he’s not sure he can see a future with her.
I was left cringing into my sofa when she stripped off into her lacy lingerie on Dan’s front door steps and watching them share a pinky promise in Bali made me feel 13 again (and not in a good way).
Ella and Dan's rocky relationship
EXOTIC ROMANCE
Sparks flew when Dan and Amber jetted off on a cast trip in Bali back in March.
In a flirty chat, they described their situation as two singletons having a "bit of fun".
Awkwardly, Dan's ex Amber Turner was on the same trip but, surprisingly, she took him to one side and gave the burgeoning romance her blessing.
CHEATING CLAIMS
Dan was accused of having a fling with his ex-girlfriend Hannah Rally behind Ella Rae's back while on holiday in Dubai.
Ella Rae was said to be furious by Dan's actions and is said to have made her feelings known to Hannah.
BITTER FEUD
Ella Rae and Hannah engaged in a social media spat, trading digs at each other through memes and barbed comments.
The most cutting of which was saw Hannah share a post of a human hand holding up a miniature man by his genitals.
It was accompanied by the caption: "Your man was in my DMs again sis, I believe this is yours."
Hannah added: "More than dms but now you can get out of mine love @ellaraewise [kiss blowing emojis]."
SINGLE LIFE
In May, a representative for Dan told us that the Towie hunk wasn't in a relationship.
Days later Ella Rae confirmed the two had split and declared she's happy being single, telling fans in a Q&A: "Yes and happily single. Focusing on myself and my brand."
TRIP ABROAD
The Cypriot heat appears to have got the pair feeling smitten again. They've been looking close while filming scenes for the reality show and even kissed on a boozy cast night out
And after reading that the pair had secretly split off-screen, despite continuing to "date" on the show, I’m riled up.
A source told The Sun: “She might be dating Dan on-screen but off-screen Ella has moved and she’s secretly dating a very rich 21-year-old called Teddy Brunt.
"She has been in Dubai with him - she’s staying in his apartment out there.”
The fake dating is enough to make me vom, but at least Ella and Dan have called it quits and won’t be snogging on my screen any time soon (let’s hope).
Tears, tears, and more tears
But unfortunately for me, I’ll still be subject to hours of Harry Derbidge, Junaid Ahmed and Joe Blackman drama.
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There’s been 11 episodes in this latest series and in every, single, one, we’ve seen the same spat played out, again and again.
From tears, tears and more tears in the street to the same lines being repeated hundreds of times, after Harry, Junaid and Joe’s relationship triangle, I think I’ve had enough.
From finding out Harry and Joe went 'exclusive' in last night's episode, only to hear the bombshell news moments later that now they aren't together, I'm tired of going round and round in circles.
Not to forget the terrible and overly dramatised acting and editing, with Amy Childs answering the phone with her camera on the screen, proving that scenes are obviously (and badly) set up for viewer entertainment (or not in my case).
Whilst Harry admitted that "now this nightmare is over" on hearing that news that Junaid and Joe are over, I think I agree - now my nightmare is over too - at least their dull storyline romance has come to an end.
Like I said, TOWIE has been part of my Sunday routine for as long as I can remember, but like the GC previously said, I think it’s time I got that fire exit door and got out of here.
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If you ask me, it’s no longer the ‘only way’ is Essex. For this tired fan, now the ‘only way’ to save my precious 9pm Sunday slot is to change the channel.
TOWIE is old, done and finished. Let's move on and find something else.
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