People don't seem to put me down as an Only Way Is Essex fan. When asked if I watch the ITV3 show and I give a cheerful nod of confirmation, they tend to let out a sigh so mournful I fully expect to blink and find them dead on the floor. Most of the time I don't let this perplex me; other times, it does start to feel as though I'm letting the side down. Though I'm not convinced I have a firm idea of who "the side" are - my non-TOWIE loving friends, my perpetually disappointed mother and boyfriend, general middle class society? - I can still practically hear the tuts and mutterings of disbelief.
Following the lives of a group of perma-tanned, inexplicably wealthy twentysomethings, TOWIE claims itself as a "constructed reality" show set against a backdrop of wine bars, nail bars and flash cars. Already it's sounding pretty shallow, right? Throw in some false eyelashes (and boobs, and nails, and teeth..) with more gossip, backstabbing and bitching than an episode of Gossip Girl - and you've just about got TOWIE summed up. It literally does not get much deeper than that. Perhaps it is easy to see why others might think someone with, um, ahem, a fairly adequate brain, shall we say, takes such a shining to this show.
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| Plus, I do love a bit of glitter. |
If you managed to catch last week's live episode, you'll be startlingly aware of just how scripted the show is; from the arguments - could anybody even HEAR Arg & Lydia? - hairy moments - was Joey meant to propose and he bottled it, or..? - and the so-called "talent" of the cast members - Chloe Sims, hot pink corset, "Barbie Girl", it wasn't pretty - it's clear these guys aren't actors. And yet I was...hypnotised. I truly could not look away. I needed to know what happened next with these characters. I was hooked, as is always the case; though it isn't exactly equal to an intelligent, hard-hitting investigative documentary, it is simply a maddeningly addictive watch with some amusing scenarios and characters.
"Escapism" - that's the key word here. I would much rather capture a glimpse of 'reality' from this strange,
glittering other-world where the importance of a good manicure is equal to paying off the mortgage than
watch greyscale, plausible real life with all its sensibilities and practicalities. That, and it's JUST BLOODY ENTERTAINING. Sure - it's silly, it's scripted and the cast members won't be scooping any Nobel Prizes, but it's entertainment - and don't we all need a little light-hearted break from the rather downbeat, depressing news that's occupying our screens more and more these days?
Plus - some time ago - I caught my dad in bed, on holiday, getting emotionally invested into series one. And he is a PROPER hard nut.
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