Whenever TOWIE returns we wonder if there'll be new faces in Faces (and surrounding areas).
The most recent series introduced us to Jodie Wells, the girlfriend of Diags, which begs the question; how exactly do the producers pick the new talent?
Jodie has a significant other who already stars on the show, but what about when they don't have a clear link to a current cast member?
Do they pluck them from an Essex garden of wannabe reality TV stars? Perhaps they go through a Hunger Games-style competition? Or is it more of an X Factor audition process where potential cast members must showcase how well they can throw a glass of Prosecco in someone’s face and a have row in the middle of the street? We assume Chloe Brockett scored ten out of ten.
The icon of all icons Amy Childs recently spilled the tea on how she landed the role of a lifetime when she chatted to GK Barry on her Saving Grace podcast.
The TikTok star asked Amy, "How did you get asked to do the show?“
The beauty technician responded with, "They found me in Brentwood."
Well of course they did, vajazzling clients left, right and centre probably.
"I went out with Kirk [Norcross]," Amy went on, "Kirk was my ex-boyfriend and there were a few people coming down and they were like ‘right, who do you know on the show? Who would be good on the show?’ And Kirk said, ‘You got to have Amy, you know, she’s a bit ditsy.’ But I ain’t done too bad!”
Kirk (who is still an absolute dreamboat) left TOWIE in 2013, but recently made it clear that he'd like to return.
"I would love to try to go back on The Only Way Is Essex,” he said last year.
“That was home to me, not just the filming, the production team, the soundmen, the camera crew, like when they mic you up, that little conversation with them."
We previously had a chat with TOWIE veterans Courtney Green and Chloe Meadows who shared the deets on how they and Queen Bee Amber Turner bagged a role on the glammest reality TV show out there.
"We got asked to go on TOWIE eight years ago in January it will be," Chloe explained, "Someone messaged me on Facebook. I don’t really know why, if I’m honest."
On Facebook? That truly is a sign of the times, nowadays it's all about Instagram DMs.
"I worked in a bar called NuBar in Essex," she went on, "it was quite a popular bar and I think I had more than average followers on Instagram at time.
"They messaged me on Facebook and said, ‘can you come down and bring a couple of friends?’ I brought Courtney and our friend Madison, who ended up not coming on last minute."
Courtney chipped in, "I think they were just interested in our group of friends because we were out all the time to all the Essex spots. We were all single and fun, we’d all dress the same.
"You [Chloe] texted the group and we were like, ‘No, absolutely not’. I was like, ‘No, not doing it’, and then they messaged her again."
Chloe agreed, "Yeah, they messaged twice. The first time everyone was like ‘no’ and I was like ‘okay’. I was newly single as well, so I wanted to go on and really piss off my ex-boyfriend who had just broken up with me."
Iconic; nothing quite like getting revenge on an ex by becoming a celeb.
"I was like ‘absolutely no way, not doing it,'" Courtney added before admitting, "You [Chloe] posted it again and I was like, ‘F**k it, let’s just see what they’ve got to say’."
And the rest is history.
Amy, Chloe and Courtney aren't the only cast members who has revealed how they landed a role on TOWIE, during a Q&A on her Instagram Ella Rae Wise also gave tips on how to take part in a reality TV show.
One of her followers asked, "How did you get onto TOWIE and would you recommend for others to go on?”
Ella shared an adorable throwback selfie from her first day of filming and told her followers, “It was generally pot luck! Random message on Instagram from a casting account then the rest was history literally! 🥰 🥰 🥰”
It sounds all very Love Island with a cheeky DM from a casting company looking for fresh faces to join their new reality TV show.
Ella went on to to confess her love for the show and that she would definitely recommend anyone to join as long as "you're that person that isn't worried about opening up to the public."
We would imagine being part of such a chaotic reality show would require seriously thick skin, but it's not all bad, Ella added, "You'll make amazing memories and experience things you probably wouldn't experience in a 9-5 job ❤️."
We don't doubt that. You won't be getting a luxurious getaway to Thailand for two weeks in the standard 9-5 role, that's for sure.
WATCH: 'We're in control of our days' Frankie and Demi Sims on TOWIE vs House of Sims
Emily Vierke is a digital writer who has dabbled in the world of celeb, beauty and fashion. She has watched TOWIE since Lydia Bright had her micro-pig and her favourite scene is Gemma Collins asking James Lock, “What’s up? You ill?”