Most of us have a check list of likes when it comes to choosing prospective partners – tall, dark and handsome? Blonde and muscular? Short and funny? We all have some idea of what makes our heads swivel and our pulses race.
However, these are just general aesthetics – it’s quite unusual (but not unheard of) to choose someone who is a dead ringer for your ex.
It seems Ex TOWIE star Fran Parman may have done just that. She recently treated her 259k followers to a loved-up snap of her and mystery man, pro-boxer James Branch, cheek to cheek and we can’t help but notice his appearance is quite similar to someone else’s.
James commented on the post with no less than three emoji love hearts, saying, “Good times ahead.” To which Fran replied, “You the best.”
Another follower commented, “You lovely pair”.
Check out: axed TOWIE stars - where are they now?
CLOSER - axed Towie cast members where are they now? - slider
1 of 26Harry Derbridge, series 1- 3 and 12
Harry Derbridge was a Towie original and still holds a very special place in our hearts. He made a welcome return to the show as Bobby Norris's love interest but, allegedly, cheated on him.
2 of 26Harry Derbridge, 2018
Harry now works it as a make-up artist. Is it us, or does he look like he might have had a little help with lip fillers?
3 of 26Maria Fowler, series 1 - 3
Maria, on the left with Joey Essex and Chloe Sims in 2011, was in the show from the get-go but her TV career was rocked when it was alleged she'd worked as an escort. She's since said she quit 'by mutual consent' after she refused an on-screen romance with Mick Norcross.
4 of 26Maria Fowler, 2018
Maria's now a proud mummy, engaged to be married and a self-proclaimed permanent make-up artist.
5 of 26Dan Osborne, series 8 - 14
Dan Osborne, pictured here with James Argent in 2013, managed seven series on the show. He was given the boot after a series of recordings, claiming to show Dan being verbally abusive towards his ex-girlfriend Megan Tomlin, came to light.
6 of 26Dan Osborne, 2018
Dan is still in the spotlight due to his relationship with ex-EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa. In May 2018 he described their marriage as "unhappy".
7 of 26Amber Dowding, series 18 - 21
Amber was part of a mega cull of seven Towie characters in January 2018. She claimed that she and her boyfriend Chris Clark were cut because they were happy. They've now split and Chris has reappeared on the show.
8 of 26Amber Dowding, 2018
If Amber's social media is anything to go by, she now appears to mostly be on holiday. Pretty goals from where we're sitting.
9 of 26Mike Hassini, series 16 - 18 and 21
Mike Hassini brought a hot bod to Towie and...not much else. He was cut in January 2018 due to a lack of storylines as he was loved-up outside the telly show.
10 of 26Mike Hassini, 2018
Mike is working as a PT, still loved-up, and still has a very hot bod. He has subsequently appeared briefly in gym scenes on the show.
11 of 26Jack Rigden, series 20 - 21
Jack Rigden tried hard, so hard, to make an impression on Towie but his lack of on-screen romance and agg saw him get very little camera time. He was part of the big cull of January 2018.
12 of 26Jack Rigden, 2018
Jack's Instagram bio describes him as an "absolute geezer". Which is nice.
13 of 26Jordan Brook, series 20 - 21
Jordan and Jack were brought in as friends of Megan McKenna. When she quit, they were left without any storylines.
14 of 26Jordan Brooks, 2018
Jordan is now dating Sofia Filipe of Ex On The Beach fame. Aww.
15 of 26Ricky Rayment, series 4 - 14
We still think very fondly of Ricky. His rocky relationship with Jess Wright was a huge part of the show but when they finally broke up, well... Ricky left the show "by mutual agreement"with Towie bosses.
16 of 26Ricky Rayment, 2018
Ricky now seems to mainly go fishing.
17 of 26Tom Pearce, series 5 - 13
Remember when Tom Pearce dated Lauren Goodger following her split from Mark Wright? That was an odd time. He was quietly shown the back doorof the show in 2014.
18 of 26Tom Pearce, 2018
Honestly? We're not 100% sure what Tom is actually doing these days. He used to work in the City, and his holidays certainly look pretty epic, so maybe that.
19 of 26Grace Andrews, series 11 - 12
Grace almost had a romantic relationship with Lewis Bloor (shudder) and that was the beginning and end of her time on Towie.
20 of 26Grace Andrews, 2018
Grace is now involved in a semi-permanent make-up company. Those Towie stars must really hate cleanser.
21 of 26Fran Parman, series 11 - 16
Fran's original romantic interest was Tom Pearce but he stepped aside to allow Diags to woo her. Bad luck. Their relationship was turbulent but apparently not turbulent enough for show producers. Diags stayed, she went.
22 of 26Fran Parman, 2018
Fran and Diags split and she now hangs out in clothing that does not look very practical.
23 of 26Jasmin Walia, series 1 and 7-17
Jasmin managed eight series until she was given the boot. In 2015 her agent stated: "TOWIE is very storyline dependent and Jasmin did not have much going on that we could show on screen."Ouch. She went on to audition for The X Factor. It did not go well. She also took part in reality show Desi Rascals, that lasted for one series.
24 of 26Jasmin Walia, 2018
Jasmin is still being papped, which is more than can be said for some of the other ex-Towie stars.
25 of 26Jake Hall, series 14 - 17
Jake's time of TOWIE was mainly characterised by him being mean to our sweet Essex princess Chloe Lewis including many accusations of infidelity, plus rumours he'd slept with Megan McKenna.
26 of 26Jake Hall, 2018
Jake subsequently became engaged to former Real Housewives of Cheshire star Misse Beqiri. They have a baby together but in December 2018Jake was given a restraining order following a bust up with his fiancée.
Fran’s pic also received support from current TOWIE cast mates Olivia Attwood and Clelia Theodorou who expressed their love for the image with heart emojis.
Certainly, seems like love in the air.
But a couple of eagle-eyed fans pointed out James’ similarity to her ex, with one writing, “Thought that was Diags.”
These comments have now been deleted.
But one that very much remains, states, “Hope he treats you good, you deserve it so much after your ex.”
Fran dated TOWIE veteran Diags (James Bennewith) for three and a half years and at the time they were one of the strongest couples on the show – in fact fellow cast mates rejoiced at the fact Diags had finally found someone after being the eternally single, but ready to mingle cast mate.
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They sadly split in 2017 over a boy’s trip to Ibiza, in an interview with OK Magazine at the time Fran revealed, “He just came in like, ‘Right, I’m going to Ibiza with the boys this weekend.”
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She added, “I said, it’s not about you going out with your mates. You don’t take me out. I’m just sitting in doors all the time and it’s not fair, but he just couldn’t see that.”
Fran decided to go on her own girl’s trip to Marbella and alleged she wanted to work on things but when she returned to Essex, Diags was done with the relationship.
She was axed from the show shortly after the split.
At the beginning of the year, the estranged couple reunited on a celebrity version of ‘Eating With My Ex’ to hash out what went wrong – in spite of tears (on his part) the pair were doomed to fail and sadly no reconciliation was on the cards.