When was Gemma Collins in TOWIE, why she left and the shock reason why she is never allowed to return
Gemma opens up about The Only Way Is Essex in tonight's I'm A Celebrity South AfricaGemma Collins recalls how she found fame on TOWIE tonight while chatting to her I’m A Celebrity co-stars – but when was she on it?
Gemma tells her fellow campmate Adam Thomas about how much she enjoyed starring in the ITVBe reality show.
She tells the former Emmerdale star how she has no regrets about appearing in The Only Way Is Essex, even though she believes she would have been successful without it.
“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Gemma says to Adam in I’m A Celebrity South Africa. “It gave me a massive leg up in life.
“I would have done well anyway, I was really good at selling cars… I was a car sales girl at BMW.”
But when exactly was Gemma on TOWIE and why did she leave? Gemma is also never allowed to return to the reality series… but why?
Here’s everything you need to know.
When was Gemma Collins on TOWIE?
Gemma, 45, joined the cast of The Only Way Is Essex in 2011. She was approached by producers to appear in show after they were tipped off by Julie Childs, mother of TOWIE star Amy Childs.
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Gemma was working at a BMW garage in Harold Wood, East London. After a two week trial run in front of the cameras, she returned to work at the garage for one week. Gemma was then cast in the show.
Taking a risk, a then-brunette Gemma quit her job to be on the show. Her wage was far less than what she had been earning, though.
Gemma has since said: “We all got paid £50 in the day but it all turned out good. I’m still living here to tell the tale.
“I knew I was going to be able to have a good life off the back of taking a massive risk.”
Gemma took Kirk Norcross for a test drive in her first TOWIE scene. She hung out with Amy and Harry Derbidge, before soon naming herself The G.C.
One of Gemma’s long-running storylines was her tumultuous relationship with James ‘Arg’ Argent. Fans will remember the iconic moments she slapped her bottom in Marbella, telling him: “You ain’t never going to get this candy!”
Gemma also dated co-star Charlie King on the show, before getting together with her now-fiancé Rami Hawash in front of the cameras.
She was also involved in some pretty explosive rows, too. These included arguments with her best pal Bobby Norris, and with Lauren Pope and Vas J. Morgan.
Why did Gemma Collins leave TOWIE?
Gemma announced she was quitting TOWIE in August 2015 after four years. However, despite officially bowing out after the 15th series, Gemma returned for the next Christmas special.
She would then occasionally pop up in episodes over the next four years. But in 2019, Gemma decided to leave for good.
By this point, she had starred in 280 episodes.
Gemma admitted that she struggled with “abuse” on social media while she was on TOWIE. But the main reason she quit was because she had moved on to new ventures.
By 2019, Gemma had lucrative offers flooding in and was arguably the biggest star of the show. She was then offered her own spin-off TV series, Gemma Collins: Diva Forever.
Gemma no longer needed TOWIE.
She told the Daily Star at the time: “I love The Only Way Is Essex. I wish them all well, but no, I won’t do it again, I’ve moved on.
“Honey, I’ve got Valentino dressing me now. Do they really need to see me back down Brentwood High Street?”
Is Gemma ‘banned’ from returning to TOWIE?
Gemma has since admitted she has been “banned” from returning to The Only Way Is Essex. But not from ITV bosses.
The self-confessed diva has said her agent has told her she can’t ever return to the show.
Gemma told The Sun in 2024: “I wouldn’t be where I am today without that show and I’ll be forever grateful. However, my agent has told me if I ever step back on that show it would be a career disaster.
“I have to take my agent’s advice on some things. I don’t know why he thinks that.”
Read more: I’m A Celebrity star Gemma Collins reveals exactly how much weight she lost in South Africa
