HU17 Meets The Cast of The Only Way Is Essex

 

Anyone thinking that the cast members of ITV2’s the Only Way is Essex are nothing more than narcissistic, vacuous cash splashers couldn’t be more wrong.  In the press area of Pozition nightclub in Hull, I was lucky enough to meet up with four of the stars from the BAFTA winning TV show – Mark, Lauren, Arg and Lydia – who were in East Yorkshire for an event organised by Beverley firm SJR Promotions.

Since the series aired in 2010 it has courted controversy for the ‘staged reality’ in which it exists.  It is widely believed that the cast are actors and they adhere to a script created by the producers.  Personally, I couldn’t give a vajazzle whether it’s staged or not.  The series provides damned good entertainment and that’s what television is all about.  Series 2 recently ended with a cliff-hanger involving the turbulent relationship of long term partners Arg and Lydia.  The question of will they/won’t they was left unanswered so Arg was my first port of call and I managed to drag him away from the rest of the cast for a chat…

Incredibly accommodating Arg is a carbon copy of his onscreen persona but a little shy and perplexed by his newfound fame.  I asked him straight out if he and Lydia were a “real” couple.  “We’re trying to work through it” he said, almost exhausted by the thought of it all.  However, during the photo-call, I witnessed Arg attempting to get close to Lydia.  She constantly brushed him away, “Stop leaning on me!” she said “Get off me”.  Maybe he will be ‘working through it’ for quite some time. It became clear from this point that the line between television and reality wasn’t too blurred and I asked Arg if he felt like he was under scrutiny when the cameras were off.  “I think we have all managed to separate our real lives from the filming but I suppose nowadays when you’re in a successful TV show, you are kind of always being watched, especially with the kind of show that we’re in because the newspapers and magazines always want to know a little bit more about you.  Sometimes, when you think you’re not being watched a photographer will jump out of a bush and the next day you’re in the papers in your tracksuit with your finger up your nose.”

Lauren came over with her scruffy, cracked pink and white Blackberry and politely asked if I would take some photos of the TOWIE bunch.  I obliged, capturing pictures of them sipping champagne and thoroughly enjoying their success.  “I love your dress” commented Lydia who looked beautiful in her figure hugging dress.  She was more than willing to talk to me about the boot-camp she endured to achieve her size 6 from size 10 figure.  “Was it the ‘no carbs’ before Marbs’ mantra that’s helped you lose weight?” I asked her “No” she laughed, “I’ve not been dieting; I’ve been to the boot-camp in Norfolk” as if I should know the one she meant.  Having researched said boot-camp, it seems Lydia might be endorsing the £950 ‘UK’s No. 1 Boot Camp’ weight-loss programme.  Lydia is though, a very warm character; we could have talked all night.  She seems very in tune with the evolvement of her own celebrity, her fashion and demeanour show all the signs of a girl who is embracing every element of her fame and making the most of it while she can.

Throughout the evening the whole club was buzzing with TOWIE talk.  I talked to a group of girls talking about the characters “I hate Lauren” declared one of them.  I asked why and her opinion was based entirely on what she had seen on television. Lauren in reality seemed comfortable and self-assured but also slightly bemused that people should be interested in her.  She was congenial and polite and much more striking in real life than she comes across on the TV screen.
Lauren and Mark took turns holding up their BlackBerries and photographing themselves with their bubbly, laughing together like a genuine real-life couple whilst simultaneously tweeting about the fun they were having to their thousands of Twitter followers.

Mark Wright, the Series One king of TOWIE, was recently dethroned by Series Two newcomer Joey Essex but unlike his screen persona, spent the evening quietly skulking around, looking sorry for himself, coming across very aloof.  This wasn’t the cocky self-assured Mark Wright that burst his way through our telly boxes. Something was definitely amiss. However, the moment the cast were taken from the Champagne Lounge into the VIP room to meet their eagerly awaiting fans, Mark turned on the charm with a flick of the switch, widening that trademark cheesy grin for the photographs.  I saw Mark as he came back through the crowd and he stopped directly in front of me.  The smile waned and he held on to his stomach. “Are you alright?  You look like you don’t want to be here” I asked.  After puffing his cheeks out, he replied “No, I’m not, I’ve got food poisoning, and I’ve been on the toilet all day. I’m not even having a drink; the champagne is just for show.”  Poor old Mark, the consummate professional had contradicted the shows critics by ‘acting’ in his “real” life because he had not wanted to disappoint the fans.  Like all of the characters I met tonight, Mark is incredibly down to earth and is thoroughly grateful for every minute of the success the show brings them.

People who have never seen the show belittle it as mindless drivel but those who catch a single episode find themselves hooked to the end, totally addicted, using the word “reem” in their everyday vocabulary.

SJR promotions brought BAFTA winning celebrities to East Yorkshire and added some proper reem Essex glamour.  I’ve got three words left for any of you who dare to say a bad word against The Only Way is Essex… Oh, Shut Up!

Jess Clark, Divine Clark PR
www.divineclarkpr.co.uk

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