TOWIE is 14 years into production and 34 series in now, which means if you went to Mastermind bosses and told them you wanted TOWIE to be your quiz topic, they'd probably laugh at you and tell you to pick a sub-category; like Roman Hackett's flings, Christmas specials or the GC. Sorry, why haven't we done this? As such, you can be forgiven for coming across certain former TOWIE cast names and going, 'Who, hun?' cause there's literally been hundreds of them. But here's a good example – Lauren Bayford.
It's a shame some of you are asking, 'Who, hun?' when it comes to Lauren tbh, because the 'fiery' bestie of icon Saffron Lempriere had a loads of potential, but for whatever reason – and despite a hella load of hype – she only popped up on the series a handful of times in 2023. Five according to IMDb.
Lauren appeared on TOWIE in series 31 and famously hit headlines in early 2023 when it was revealed that she had allegedly had a fling with Jordan Brook – who is now loved up with Sophie Kasaei – in 2022. Jordan apparently hooked up with Lauren around the same time he was semi-dating Ella Rae Wise and Chloe Brockett – before things with Sophie got serious.
Back in April 2023, a source told The Sun, 'Lauren is a redhead and she’s gorgeous, she is going to make quite an impact on TOWIE by claiming that she and Jordan had a thing last year.
'Viewers saw Jordan on dates with Chloe and enjoying snogs with Ella - but friends close to Lauren claim that she was seeing him in the background the whole time off camera.
'Now Lauren wants a chance to have her say.
'The drama with Jordan and with Chloe isn’t just about them – it is also about Lauren who felt she was kept hidden in the background."
As we all know, that hotly-anticipated TOWIE dramz fizzled out into nothingness and we feel a bit robbed, tbh. Lauren appeared on TOWIE for a literally minutes and then was gone.
So where is this Essex queen now? Well, she's certainly not on TOWIE at the mo, but she is still living the life of a TOWIE cast member and hanging out with our Saffron on the regs. Phew.
We all know TOWIE producers aren't afraid to swing the axe at the current cast and bring back old cast members when they need to, and after the show's recent viewing figures became public information, who knows, perhaps we might be fast approaching swinging season x comeback season.
We're manifesting a dramatic Lauren comeback, tbh – and a few axe swings we won't share on this occasion 🤐.
WATCH: TOWIE’s Chloe and Courtney speak out on BFF Amber Turner’s surprise holiday with former rival Kady McDermott
Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for Bauer Media, writing for both Closer online and heatworld. When he's not getting paid to gossip about Big Brother, Love Island and The Real Housewives of Cheshire, he's storming the London LGBTQ+ scene as drag queen, Beary Poppins. Both Ben and Beary are awaiting an invite to join The Real Housewives of Cheshire for series 18. The budget's not there, but the drama is 💅.