His eight-year stint on The Only Way Is Essex came to an abrupt end in 2019 when he failed a drug test for cocaine. But as he returns to the hit series this Christmas, James ‘Arg’ Argent tells Closer he’s in an amazing place.
‘The year I have just had: 2024… if I could have a year similar to that for the rest of my career, I’d be a very happy man,’ he says. ‘I had an amazing year with the band, I had an amazing year in terms of fitness and health, an amazing year in terms of finding love and also with my friends and family. If I can keep that going, I will be a happy man!
‘I used to think and worry about the future, but now I’ve learnt to really live in the present and enjoy the present. Already, 2025 looks amazing!’
After joining the cast of TOWIE in 2010, Arg, 36, navigated a toxic on/off romance with co-star Gemma Collins from 2011-2020 and battled both a drug addiction – which saw him enter rehab in both 2014 and 2017 – and a problematic relationship with food.
Following his break from TV, however, Arg – who has been dating model Nicoline Artursson, 31, since the summer – is now sober and has previously said he has a ‘great relationship with food’ after losing 14st since undergoing a gastric sleeve operation in 2022.
And with his new-found lease of life, Arg has made a steady return to the spotlight, not only with reality shows like Celebrity SAS and the TOWIE Christmas special, but also with his vocal performances in The Arg Band.
Speaking about his return to the show that made him famous, he shares, ‘TOWIE was such a big part of my life and I’m still a fan. Even though I’m a full-time wedding singer now, I’ve still got a couple of good friends on the show, so I catch up on clips and support them.
‘It’s something I look back on with fond memories. It has given me such great and amazing experiences. The Christmas special is an honour to do. If I was ever going to do a one-off cameo, this makes personal sense.’
Arg became a household name on TOWIE, with fans loving his bromance with co-star Mark Wright. And Arg reveals that he’s still close with several of his fellow OG stars.
He adds, ‘Lydia [Bright] is still one of my closest friends and Mark is obviously my best friend. I was with him the other night, actually – we were doing a Christmas lights switch-on together, so we had a good catch up. I still see Mark often.
‘Dan [Edgar], I live with, and I still see Diags [James Bennewith] and catch up with Gatsby [Liam Blackwell] who’s in LA. Tommy Mallet is one of my closest friends. And Joey Essex. I’m even still close with Megan [McKenna] but I haven’t caught up with her in a while because she’s just had a baby.’