I was embroiled in Towie fakery row after bosses asked me to sleep with Mark Wright – when I said no they cut me out
But as The Only Way is Essex, one of the OG fly on the wall shows, turns 15, a former castmember has dropped a fakery bombshell so incendiary, it could blow up the whole show.
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This time the claims have spilled from one-time Sugar Hut barmaid Candy - remember her?
Well, one fan of the original reality series did and posted an appeal on TikTok asking if anyone knew where she and her pint-pulling pal Michael had gone.
Vanished without a trace
The pair were part of the OG cast in series one, back in 2010, before mysteriously vanishing without a trace when the show returned for a second series.
Since then, they have both disappeared from the spotlight and are almost impossible to find on social media.
But after the Towie superfan's TikTok appeal, Candy surprisingly emerged from the showbiz abyss and replied to the video - and she didn't hold back.
Candy commented: 'Gosh, where to start? Michael and I were and still are best friends so that was real.'
So far, so good.
Bed Mark... or move on
Using initials that could indicate Mark Wright and Harry Derbidge, she went on: 'However we never worked at the SH [Sugar Hut].
'The producers told us that unless I slept with MW [Mark Wright] and Mikey fake a romance with HD [Harry Derbridge], they would find it hard to place us.
'We didn't want to discredit ourselves by faking storylines. So, they phased us out.'
Towie in 'fake' row as fans left cringing over huge mistake in dramatic final scenes - did you spot it-
On her decision to leave, Candy went on: 'Some would say [it was] stupid. We say honourable. No hate though. We have happy lives. Not everyone wants to be famous.'
When approached about Candy's claims, an ITV spokesperson said: 'Towie has always followed real people and their real lives, and we're grateful to the cast for sharing their lives and their emotions with our audiences over 15 years.'
Indeed, this isn't the first time reps for the network have had to defend the show against accusations of the series being one big set-up.
Every time a cast member leaves the ITV2 long-runner, they take a bash at the lack of realism.
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Italian Stallion Mario Falcone caused a stir back in 2013 when he claimed soap operas were more authentic than the Essex saga.
It came at a time when he was accused of cheating on fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh with Sugar Hut babe Amy Broadbent.
Mario blasted the show on Twitter, writing: "The producers are still lying to you all... Coronation street is more reality than Towie!"
"Me and Little Chris set up our argument in the first episode [of the new series], producers knew but still put it in - all very scripted!"
Original star Amy Childs is now back on the series but hasn't held back over the years.
She said in 2016: "When I was on the show, you didn't know who would be coming on or what would happen, but now they all know exactly what's coming up.
"At the beginning, it was a new show and it was exciting.
"But I don't really know many of the people on the show now - the drama feels a bit planned and staged."
Lauren's fake rows with Mark Wright
Similarly, Lauren Goodger - who left the show in 2012 but has returned for several guests stints since before a permanent comeback in 2025 - admitted aspects of her on-screen rollercoaster romance with Mark Wright were fake.
She told Paul C Brunson on his We Need To Talk podcast that when Mark was seen with other girls on the show, it was purely for the storyline.
"He would arrive with another girl [on camera] but really he has arrived with me," she explained, adding that they would row during filming and then "go home and have tea and biscuits".
She continued: "[Mark] wasn't a bad boy, that's just how they [The Only Way Is Essex] portrayed him.
"What is quite hard is that yes, there were difficult times and I'm not saying it wasn't hard but it wasn't all bad from him.
"He was a good person and a good partner but they say 'he treated you terribly' - that was just for the show."
Towie is categorised as "structured reality" and producers have never tried to argue the action was pure fly-on-the-wall.
But just how deep does the fakery go?
Just last November fans spotted a clue a huge row was faked.
Junair Ahmed was seen making a call to his best mate Dani Imbert following his break-up with Harry Derbidge.
Dani then called Elma Pazar, who rang Saffron Lempriere, who then called Harry - but the phone was picked up by Amy Childs.
Fans were quick to spot that some of the Towie stars weren't actually on the phone.
Camera clue
They noticed that Elma's iPhone was displaying the lock screen, while the camera was clearly open when Amy was on the call.
There was another clanger in 2016 when fans spotted the cast staged a scene on a night out in Marbella - all dancing in complete silence.
Taking to Instagram to post the video, the fan in question captioned it: 'Cannot believe Towie isn't real and all staged'.
One thing for sure is the power of Towie's 'bump ins'.
These are the meetings between two parties that producers set up - but they swear what then ensues is real.
We didn't want to discredit ourselves by faking storylines. So, they phased us out
Candy
Chloe Sims explained: 'They'll just say to you, 'Look, we're rolling, you're walking, you're gonna bump into him and whatever happens happens.'
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James Lock has thrown a little more light on the process: 'Obviously it's not a fly on the wall documentary, they don't follow us around.
"When we bump into somebody, like if I had a problem with you and bumped into you, they are not there 24/7 to catch that argument.
"So you have to relive that argument, and by the time you've relived it, you don't always feel the same.
"So you are sort of semi-acting in that environment."
Secret rivalries
Perhaps the real truth comes from a voice behind Towie's fiction - one of the storyline writers.
They hinted that cast demanded increasingly dramatic scenes to boost their airtime and media career - with some even seeking out relationships that would help their cause.
The mole told the Daily Star: "There was a constant competition for air time. The characters really did not need much manipulation because they are all very media-savvy.
"They allow the show to make stories out of their relationship, then they get more scenes which therefore will have a large effect on their status outside of the show.
"Of course that meant that some of them would actively seek relationships for more air time."
Cast member Danielle Armstrong is sick of people questioning the show's integrity, though.
During an appearance on Vicky Pattison's The Secret To podcast, she said: 'The biggest question… I had was, 'Is it real? Is it real?'
The producers are still lying to you all... Coronation street is more reality than Towie!
Mario Falcone
'That used to infuriate me because I'd think, 'Do you actually think I can act? Did you not see me crying every Sunday and Wednesday on ITV?' We definitely can't act.
'Well, some I'm sure can, but I definitely couldn't and it was all so real.'
Pete Wick s said, simply: 'It's never been scripted, babe. Never.'
One thing that is definitely scripted, though, is Denise Van Outen 's famous intro to the show, in which she trills: 'The tans you see might be fake, but the people are all real… although some of what they do has been set up purely for your entertainment.'
It's probably the realest thing on there.
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TOWIE RICH LIST
Whether Towie is real or fake, one thing that's certainly genuine article is the cast's bulging bank balances. Here who has banked the most over the last 15 years....
Mark Wright: £15million
Thanks to his fitness business, TV work, book deals and lucrative social media sponsorships - plus a property worth £3.5 million, Mark is seriously loaded. Wife Michelle's has also banked millions thanks to Netflix shows and Very deals, making them a megarich power couple.
Samantha Faiers: £9million
Sam first made a killing with a clothing line, babywear collection and even a home furnishings line after leaving the show. She has also had a Sunday Times bestselling book and money-spinning ITV spin-offs but her biggest income has come from her Revive Collagen brand, which is even stocked Stateside.
Joey Essex: £8million
He's been on every reality show going, from I'm A Celeb to Dancing on Ice and Love Island, and Joey is laughing all the way to the bank. As well as investing in properties, Joey has made six-figure sums by endorsing McDonalds, Jaffa Cakes and even soup - and once released a song called Reem.
Gemma Collins: £7million
The 42-year-old former car dealer runs her own fashion empire, had a range with Boohoo and is renowned for landing big brand deals. The 'meme queen' even popped up on Orange is the New Black and has even been the face of an airline. She's fronted her own show Diva Forever and presented on Loose Women and This Morning over the years since Towie.
Amy Chillds: £5million
Amy signed up to Katie Price's former manager when she was first on the show and she helped her haul in some serious cash. A beauty salon, endorsement deals, a weekly magazine column, a fitness DVD and an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother all helped make Amy a wealthy lady and she wisely invested a lot of in in property.
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There was a lot of life around him.' Boyd says things changed when 'Nick told me he wanted to leave Cambridge and move to London. 'I agreed to give him a monthly stipend to help him survive. He rented a bedsit in Hampstead — you could do that in those days. 'Nick started smoking a lot of hashish and didn't seem to see many people. I definitely noticed a difference. 'He'd been at Marlborough, he'd been at Cambridge and suddenly he's on his own, smoking dope, practising the guitar, going out for a curry, coming back to the guitar some more. He became more and more isolated and closed off'. Boyd describes how Drake found live performance an almost unbearable challenge. He says: 'He had different tunings for every song, which took a long time. He didn't have jokes. So he'd lose his audience and get discouraged.' 'It still haunts me that I left the UK' For Drake's next album, Bryter Layter, recorded in 1970 and released in 1971, Boyd remained in charge of production. Despite all the albums he's worked on, including REM 's Fables Of The Reconstruction and Kate and Anna McGarrigle's classic debut, he lists Bryter Layter as a clear favourite. It bears the poetic masterpiece Northern Sky with its heartrending opening line – 'I never felt magic crazy as this.' Boyd says: 'I can drop the needle and relax, knowing that John Wood and I did the best we could.' However, he adds that it still 'haunts me that I left for a job with Warner Bros in California after that. I was very burnt out and didn't appreciate how much Nick may have been affected by my leaving'. Drake responded to Boyd's departure by saying, 'The next record is just for guitar and voice, anyway'. Boyd continues: 'So I said, 'Well, you don't need me any more. You can do that with John Wood'.' When he was sent a test pressing of 1972's stripped-back Pink Moon, he recalls being 'slightly horrified'. 'I thought it would end Nick's chances of commercial success. It's ironic that it now sells more than his other two.' Then, roughly a year after leaving the UK, Boyd got a worried call from Drake's mum. 'Molly said she had urged Nick to see a psychiatrist because he had been struggling,' he says, with sadness, 'and that he had been prescribed antidepressants. 'I know Nick was hesitant to take them. He felt people would judge him as crazy — a typically British response.' Boyd again uses the word 'haunting' when recalling the transatlantic phone call he made to Drake. 'I said, 'There's nothing shameful about taking medicine when you've got a problem'. I know Nick was hesitant to take them [antidepressants]. He felt people would judge him as crazy — a typically British response Joe Boyd 'But I think antidepressant dosages were way higher in those days than they became. 'Doctors didn't appreciate the rollercoaster effect — how you could get to a peak of elation and freedom, then suddenly plunge back into depression. 'Who knows but it might have contributed to the feeling of despair Nick felt the night he took all those extra pills.' Drake died at home in Warwickshire during the early hours of November 25, 1974. As for Boyd, he made a lasting commitment to the singer who had such a profound effect on him. He says: 'When I left, I gave my company to Chris Blackwell because there were more debts than assets — and he agreed to take on the debts. 'But I said, 'I want it written in the contract that you cannot delete Nick Drake. Those records have to stay. 'I just knew that one day people would get him.'
