Bursting onto our screens ten years ago now, The Only Way Is Essex was one of the first UK reality shows of its kind (without its success, we probaby wouldn’t have Geordie Shore or Made In Chelsea). The first few series made vajazzles a thing, with cast members like Mark Wright, Gemma Collins, Amy Childs and Lauren Goodger becoming household names as thousands of us tuned in.
And Lauren has now revealed that her time on the show from 2010-2012 had the royal seal of approval. In a new interview, she said she laughs when people call her a bad role model as Kate Middleton previously said that Lauren is her favourite cast member.
Also, talking about how she sometimes gets trolled for posting bikini pictures to Instagram, the reality star compared herself to Kim Kardashian, saying she thinks there’s double standards as Kim usually gets praised for it.
"Kim posts a topless selfie and she's a feminist," she told The Sun.
"I post a bikini picture and get called an attention seeker. It's double standards. There is no need for it. And calling me a bad role model? I just laugh. I'm Kate Middleton's favourite TOWIE star, so I must be doing something right."
Take a look: TOWIE stars returning for the show's ten year anniversary 👀
TOWIE cast returning for the 10th anniversary
1 of 7Amy Childs
She was very much the IT girl when TOWIE first started in 2010 and now she's confirmed her comeback on Instagram."'TOWIE 10 is coming, it's time to get back to Essex' .... IM BACK ud83dude1d @towie," she wrote.
2 of 7Nicole Bass
She dated Lewis Bloor when she first joined the show but things took a turn and they had a bitter split. Nicole has since dated Aaron Chalmers (after meeting on Ex on the Beach) and Sam Mucklow. Unfortunately Sam quit the show alongside his now pregnant girlfriend Shelby Tribble (who was Nicole's friend). Anyways, we're excited to see what Nicole gets up to on the next series...
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3 of 7Joey Essex
Let's be honest, it wouldn't be right to have a TOWIE reunion with Joey Essex. He's one of the show's most iconic cast members of all time so we're excited AF to see that he's been filming with BFF James 'Diags' Bennewith.
4 of 7Danielle Armstrong
A lot has changed for Danielle since she left TOWIE. She's now engaged to her childhood sweetheart Tommy Edney and recently gave birth to their daughter Orla Mae. She's been spotted filming for the new series with Chloe Sims so we can't wait to see what they get up to.
5 of 7Fran Parman
Fran Parman has been spotted on set for TOWIE and we cannot wait to see her back with the Essex gang. The last time we saw her was with Diags on Eating With My Ex and they parted ways after discovering they were on different pages.
6 of 7Carol Wright
Mark Wright's mum Carol is making a comeback to TOWIE (we're still hoping her son does).
7 of 7Jess Wright
Jess was unlucky in love on TOWIE (remember when she dated Ricky Rayment?) but things have changed and she's newly engaged.
More Lauren Goodger news:
Lauren Goodger, Danielle Lloyd, Frankie Essex and Charlotte Dawson bare all in naked shoots
And while it might be hard to imagine Kate and Wills sitting down to watch TOWIE, Lauren isn’t lying about the Duchess’ viewing habits. In 2012, Kate admitted she was a fan of the show while visiting Alder Hey children’s hospital.
During her visit, she said she never missed an episode and that she hoped Lauren wouldn’t get back together with her ex-boyfriend Mark Wright because he's 'not nice enough' to her.
We wonder if Kate watches Love Island, too. When it's on sob.