Living Life the Essex Way (2 page)

Then Brian went off with the tape, and we heard nothing about it for just under a year. He was going to production companies, but it seemed no one wanted it, which may have been a good
thing!

Anyhow, the next thing that happened – I was 19 by now – was I got a call from a lady called Sarah Dillistone from Lime Pictures, who said she wanted to meet me and Amy for a casting
for a new show she was doing. We went together to Mooro’s, a restaurant in Chigwell, next to the gym where Amy used to work as a beautician, and just chatted with her. It was really relaxed,
and at the end she was basically like ‘I love you’. We found out later that she had also seen Mark and Kirk, and we were like ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’

They also got James Argent – Arg – on board through Mark. I have known Arg for years after I dated one of his friends, and I think he is a great guy. We get on brilliantly, although
we argue like brother and sister. He knows I will always be straight with him and tell him when he is annoying me, and he doesn’t always like that and tells me I am horrible, but both of us
know the other one doesn’t mean it. It’s a classic brother–sister relationship.

I had my first ciggie with Arg. He used to smoke the odd cheeky cigarette, and when I was about 18 I remember having one with him at a bus stop. It makes me laugh thinking of that. I liked
hanging out with Arg, but I didn’t like the cigarette!

Anyway, as well as Arg, Mark got his then girlfriend Lauren Goodger and his sister Jess Wright on board. Harry Derbidge came through me and Amy, and then there was a couple who appeared only in
the first series, Candy Jacobs and Michael Woods. And that was about it – the cast (if that’s what you could call us!) wasn’t so big in the beginning.

Harry is Amy’s cousin, but I have known him since he was six, when he would come to family meals, and even then it was pretty obvious he was gay – Amy was always putting shoes and
make-up on him and doing him up like a doll. His brother is very blokeish, so I think he’s always enjoyed having me and Amy around to talk to.

He confronted and dealt with the fact that he was gay really well. I think his family – especially his mum Karen, who is lovely – gave him loads of support. He was openly gay through
school, and his attitude was: ‘This is who I am, I can’t help being this way, deal with it.’ And I think because he was so brave and was not worried about what other people
thought, he didn’t get any hassle. What you see is what you get with Harry. He is obsessed with everything to do with girls, like boobs and periods. We all knew he would make for great
TV!

Anyway, we did a pilot with Lime, and this time it was exactly as
TOWIE
turned out. So rather than talking to camera, as we had done with Brian, it was us being filmed actually getting
on with everyday life. We weren’t given much of a brief at all, as I think at this point the producers wanted to just let us get on with it and see what happened. So they would say things
like: ‘Just get ready for a night out and chat with each other like you would if we weren’t here.’

A lot of the scenes from the pilot ended up in the first episode, like us taking Amy’s dog for a walk and me and Amy getting ready for a night at Sugar Hut. It was so weird having the
cameras there as we got on with our normal lives. They try to make it as subtle as possible, but at the end of the day there are a lot of people involved in filming, so it can end up feeling more
like a set, no matter how hard they try. There are usually about ten people, including three cameramen with cameras on tripods, a sound guy, a director and a producer.

I remember the very first scene we filmed really clearly. It was the one I mentioned in the introduction, with me, Amy and Harry in the shop, when Amy came out of the changing room in a wedding dress. Oh my God, it was
hilarious. The moment that marked the point of no return in our laughing was when I said to Amy, ‘Oh, Kirk will definitely take you up the aisle.’ I meant it innocently, but all three
of us have dirty minds and we got the giggles and were soon hysterical. The crew didn’t get the innuendo and got the hump with us, but we were lying on the floor laughing. We really
couldn’t get it together, and they were like, ‘Come on.’ But this was all so new to us – we just couldn’t take it too seriously.

They couldn’t use that bit, but the idea is to try not to reshoot any scenes, because that wouldn’t be natural. You might have to repeat a sentence for the camera, if someone talks over you, or repeat a walk down the stairs
or something if they got the angle wrong, but most of the time reshooting wouldn’t work, because you wouldn’t get people’s genuine reactions. Anyway, that first day of filming was
great, and no wonder the pilot was so good!

I am not really sure what happened as far as Brian was concerned. We didn’t fall out with him, as he accepts that Amy and I were approached by a different company, who we saw as bringing
in a new project. But he claims that the idea was stolen from him by Lime Pictures, and Lime claim they were already working on a very similar concept, but also say that we did come to their
attention through Brian’s tape. I don’t know the ins and outs really, but I know it has now become a legal battle between them, as was reported in the papers last year (2011), which is
a shame.

I think Brian is upset as he got no credit for bringing the main characters to the table, and to be fair I am not sure Lime would have found me and Amy without him. Kirk and Mark are maybe a
different matter though, as they were so well known around Essex that anyone wanting to do a show about life there would probably have ended up finding them.

Either way, it was a brilliant idea, whoever came up with it first. But I am glad we ended up doing the show with Lime. I love Sarah and get on really well with her, and I honestly don’t
think – much as I love Brian – that he would have pulled off a better show, even for such simple reasons like him obviously having a much smaller budget to work with. Lime has been
great to work with, and the whole crew have definitely become genuinely good friends of mine now.

Anyway, there was a gap of only a month or two after we filmed the pilot before Lime took it to ITV2. I have no idea what was said about it and what made them decide to go for it, but ITV
obviously liked it, because soon after Sarah called to tell us it had been commissioned. I really didn’t know at that point what
TOWIE
was going to turn into, but I tell you, I was
so excited at the time anyway. I just remember leaping around the house, and Amy and I making all sorts of crazy plans for what we would do when we became well known. We loved the idea of posing
for the paparazzi! I didn’t think twice about handing in my notice at the bank as soon as it was commissioned – come on, it was hardly a difficult choice, was it? It didn’t occur
to me to take on an agent at this point – it was only halfway through the first series, when people started approaching me to do interviews and photo shoots, that I realised I needed someone
to look after that side of things.

There was a bit more filming to be done to finish off the first episode, but we didn’t do anything for later episodes just yet, as they wanted to keep it as current as possible. So what
you see on TV each week has generally been filmed within the last week. Once they had enough material for the first episode, they invited the cast to the Maddox Club in London for the official
launch – and I cannot tell you how excited we were.

We got there and there were posters of us all over the place, and all the top people from ITV. They were basically the big bosses who had decided the show would happen. There was also loads of
press there to meet us for the first time and watch the first episode, which was so scary, as what the media think of something can really influence the public.

It was the first big event I had to go to in my role on the TV show, and it was so exciting. I remember I had my hair all blow-dried and was wearing a cream dress from ASOS that was short at the
front and long at the back. It took me ages to decide on my outfit, but I think I made the right call in the end. Back then I had to pay for my clothes, just like everyone else, and I still
can’t quite believe how lucky I am to get some of my outfits for free these days.

Until then I’d always got the train to go into London, but this time they sent cars for us, which in itself made me feel amazing, and nearly like a celebrity. I remember I shared a car
with Amy and Kirk and, oh my God, it’s hard to describe how weird it was for us. We were all so nervous, but also giddy with excitement – we had no idea where this TV show was going to
take us, but we were up for giving it a go!

When we got to the club, I remember we were all doing our best to be on perfect behaviour. We were so worried what the journalists would write about us and the show – we really wanted them
to put positive reviews in their newspapers and magazines.

So we had a meet and greet with them in an upstairs room, where they asked us lots of questions. It was weird for us, and it can’t have been easy for them either, as at that point they
didn’t know anything about us, so the questions were very general, like what the best thing about Essex was and whether we were all single. I can remember Amy and Kirk being really flirty,
and she kept joking that she was going to marry him. That is the kind of silly thing that she would never say now because while it seems funny at the time, it can look quite different in print.
Nowadays we are all a lot more guarded about what we say to the media, but that day everyone just said whatever came into their heads.

Then everyone else went downstairs to see a screening of the first episode. And do you know what? We weren’t allowed down there! We had to sit upstairs and wait. And, oh my God, we were
soooo nervous. We attempted to make conversation, but really we were just trying to listen out for any signs from downstairs. Luckily though, all we heard was laughter, and we kept telling each
other that was at least a good sign.

The screening was an hour long, and it felt like a very long hour, I can tell you. But finally everyone came upstairs and were like, ‘Well done, we loved it, we can’t believe how
funny it was. It will be amazing.’

It was such a relief to see their response, and quite motivating too. It was probably only at that point that everyone realised for the first time: ‘Hold on, this show we are getting
involved in might actually work and be quite big.’ I had no idea what to expect from the next few months, I just knew I was so happy to be involved, and I loved the idea of the new things
that it could bring.

Sarah was great. She really took the show on as her project, and looked after the cast really well. She would come round to the house just for a gossip and a cup of tea and would stay for like
three hours. She would come to talk to me about coping with the media and the attention and to keep me up to date about what was going on – and also I reckon so she knew exactly what was
happening in my life. That way she could decide which bits would be the most interesting to film. The idea is that the
TOWIE
producers always know exactly what is going on with you, so if
I thought I fancied someone, or I was really mad at someone, I’d tell them.

Sadly Sarah only worked on
TOWIE
for series one – and then went off to be a producer on
Made in Chelsea
. Can you believe she dropped us for that show?! I guess she was
offered more money though, and I don’t blame them for wanting her – she is really good at her job and we were sad to see her go. I do actually like
Made in Chelsea
too.
It’s weird, because it is like a different world from Essex, but at the same time they go through a lot of the same things as us. I always say though, no matter how good it is,
TOWIE
is still the best!

The way filming works is that we are told how many weeks the show will be on for, and we have to keep those free, while still living our normal lives, if you get what I mean. So, for example, if
I am told to keep ten weeks free from the start of September, I can’t go booking any holidays or making any big plans in that time.

While we get on with life as normal, we also have to allow for what they want to film. That takes priority over anything else for those ten weeks. So say I want to go and visit a friend in
London, but it is not something the producers want to film and they decide they need footage of me in Minnies, I have to cancel my friend and go to Minnies. And the hardest thing is that we only
get told the night before whether we are needed the next day and at what times. So life definitely revolves around
TOWIE
for those ten weeks. I’m not having a moan about it though
– it is my job really and I love it! Luckily I’m still close to my old friends, and they are all really understanding when and if I have to cancel on them. I always try to rearrange our
plans and make it up to them by passing on some of the freebies I get sent.

Of all three series we have done, the first one was my favourite to film. We just had so much fun. You know when you start at school and you are making new friends and learning new things and
everything is fresh and exciting? Well it was like that at the beginning. And we weren’t known yet, so looking good in case the paps were around wasn’t an issue. Things like whether the
bit we were filming might annoy people and we would get abuse for it on Twitter hadn’t occurred to us yet, so we were just totally enjoying ourselves and having a mad time. Sorry to be all
sentimental – because, don’t get me wrong, I have loved filming every series since – but I guess I just look back on it as being a time of innocence or something, kind of like you
look at your junior school days in a ‘wasn’t it nice’ sort of way.

Seriously, Amy, Harry and I had the best time filming together in the salon. We would get self-conscious when we suddenly remembered the cameras were there, or just make ourselves hysterical so
that we’d cry with laughter. It took us a while to learn how to ignore the cameras and behave naturally, but now it’s pretty much second nature to us.