As much as we adore TOWIE, even we need a break come the end of a series. We spend weeks dissecting the cast's Instagram accounts for series teasers ahead of each season, we then interview a fair few of them before and during the series and, generally, we're glued to our telly and phone screens while a season is unfolding.
The show's only on once a week, but let us tell you, for us Closer journalists, it's a full time job.
So, why OH WHY, are we already talking about series 34 of TOWIE when we've quite literally JUST watched the finale for series 33?
You know, the series where producers wanted us to think Amber Turner had left the show to move to Dubai, Junaid Ahmed did the unthinkable and made peace with Girl Band, Ella Rae Wise and Dan Edgar pledged to continue their rogue relationship, Saffron Lempriere squared off with new girls Becks Bloomberg and Livvy Jay, and, well, virtually the entire cast came to blows at Harry Derbidge's 30th birthday bash.
That was all fab telly, but we know our ITV calendar and we should be fully invested in Love Island right now, while TOWIE should have reverted to its dormant state. So why is Junaid already talking about the next series? No. We're all gamed out.
The self-proclaimed "b*tch with a heart of gold" has spent virtually the entire season seeking redemption and healing former friendships, taking a step back from the TOWIE #dramz this time around.
But, he certainly hasn't taken a step back from the show, it would seem, as he recently took to his Instagram story to not only announce that he will (apparently) be returning for series 34 (can we just take a moment to process that astonishing number?), but the next season will seemingly begin – as many prior seasons have – with a trip abroad, AND it begins filming SOON.
Soon? Amber Turner's plane to Dubai has only just left the chuffin' tarmac.
Sharing a snap of himself with two TOWIE bosses, Junaid wrote, "Such a lovely morning with my TOWIE bosses 💕 Series 34 here we come! ✈️ we are back to filming very soon 🥳🥳."
Obviously, we'll always welcome more TOWIE into our lives, but we're not going to lie, we're feeling slightly overwhelmed. At least wait until Love Island 2024 is over, yeah?
We're guessing that Junaid's post means that he will be joining the cast on the series 34 trip, after choosing to skip the Bali trip earlier this year to focus on his new skincare business.
In addition to starring on TOWIE, Junaid runs his own social media management/content creation business called JJ Social.
He recently announced he was launching his own skincare business called INA Skincare, but we haven't heard much about it since then.