TOWIE’s James Argent astonishing new TV role revealed

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.

Maria's now a proud mummy, engaged to be married and a self-proclaimed permanent make-up artist.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

Mike is working as a PT, still loved-up, and still has a very hot bod. Blimey.

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.

Jack now owns a Fish and Chip business called Let's Get Battered. He also has an Instagram page dedicated to his love of cooking and all things food called @rigdensrecipes.

Jordan and Jack were brought in as friends of Megan McKenna. When she quit, they were left without any storylines.

Jordan is now dating Sofia Filipe of Ex On The Beach fame. Aww.

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.

Ricky now seems to mainly go fishing.

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.

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.

Grace almost had a romantic relationship with Lewis Bloor (shudder) and that was the beginning and end of her time on Towie.

Grace is now involved in a semi-permanent make-up company. Those Towie stars must really hate cleanser.

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.

Fran and Diags split and she now hangs out in clothing that does not look very practical.

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.

Jasmin is still being papped, which is more than can be said for some of the other ex-Towie stars.

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.

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?

Remember when Lauren looked like this? She was a TOWIE OG and her on / off relationship with Mark Wright, including getting engaged in a car park, was the stuff of reality TV dreams.

Lauren is still much loved by the public although her recent porn admission made some fans' jaws drop.

Pascal Cramer walked into TOWIE series ten as the new squeeze of Mario Falcone. Sadly, Mario still had the hots for his former flame Lucy Mecklenburgh. Pascal found out when she watched the episode in which Mario admitted his feelings for Lucy. AWKWARD.

Pascal recently dated king of the jungle trouser snake Nick Knowles although they split before he entered I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! We do not believe that is a real guitar.