As The Only Way is Essex turns 15, what made it so successful?

With its cast of glamorous 20-somethings who introduced the world to vajazzles and the Sugar Hut, The Only Way is Essex (Towie) was an instant hit with British viewers when it came to screens in 2010.

Having attracted an international fanbase, and even a few A-list followers along the way, the show is about to return for its 36th series, marking its 15th anniversary.

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that the show thrust Essex into the spotlight. But what made it so successful?

TV critic Emma Bullimore says Towie paved the way in the “constructed reality” genre on British television, building on the success of The Hills, a reality show set in Los Angeles that aired its final episode earlier in 2010.

“It was a confusing concept,” she says.

“These were real people, living real lives and conducting genuine relationships, but the directors of the show would give ideas for ‘scenes’, or steer the contributors in particular directions to create drama.”

Bullimore recalls going to the press launch for the first series at a cocktail bar with loud music, a far cry from most premieres held in a theatre or screening room.

“There was a real buzz and a feeling that this show would change the TV landscape, which indeed it did.”

She puts its success down to the show’s portrayal of Essex stereotypes – full of glitzy outfits, fake tans and big hair – a method which “inspired countless copycat versions set in different parts of the UK” like Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore.

Essex is a large county sharing borders with London, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

But fans of the show who are unfamiliar with the area would be forgiven for thinking there is no life outside of towns like Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and, in particular, Brentwood – widely considered as the home of Towie.

The town had been dubbed by the media as England’s most boring town back in the 90s, but with venues like the Sugar Hut nightclub playing a pivotal role in the show, it was quickly thrust into the spotlight.

David Kendall, a Brentwood borough councillor, said not everyone was a fan of how their local area had been portrayed.

At the show’s peak, fans from as far as Australia flocked to Brentwood to rub shoulders with their favourite stars, many of whom had opened businesses in the town centre after finding fame.

Kendall said the show brought thousands of visitors to the town.

“They stayed in hotels, they shopped, it certainly boosted our local economy,” the Lib Dem councillor added.

Victoria Cleaves, from Rhode Island in the US, started watching the show with her husband, Taylor, after hearing about it from her cousin who lives in Essex.

“I got hooked on some of the main characters like Billie and Sam Faiers, Joey Essex and Mark Wright,” the 36-year-old says.

“It was interesting to see their lives and how different they are to my own. It’s very different to American life.”

The term “Essex girl” was dropped from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary after a lengthy campaign by women who wanted to challenge the stereotype.

But Victoria, who is speaking to the BBC while visiting family in Colchester, about 40 miles (64km) away from Brentwood, thinks the show’s portrayal of Essex people is spot on.

“I’ve seen a lot of women who I thought could be on Towie – they look similar and seem to be acting similar,” she said.

Elaina Johnson, from Florida, stumbled across the show while scrolling through the American streaming platform Hulu about 10 years ago and was hooked within the first 15 minutes.

“You think that because we speak the same language, I wouldn’t need subtitles, but I do,” the 42-year-old jokes.

“When they would talk in the early seasons about wanting to be a little orange with their tan… in Florida, if you were orange, that’s just a faux pas of tanning. That was something I got such a huge kick out of.”

Saffron Lempriere, who joined the show in 2018, puts the show’s ongoing success down to the storylines it covers.

“Fifteen years ago, Towie was about breakups, glam, white stilettos, Sugar Hut,” she says.

“It was the nostalgia, but now we have grown, and society has changed, and we talk about very relatable things. We are all real people.

“Jordan [Brook]’s going through a fertility journey with Sophie [Kasaei] – the show has been amazing at covering that. Junaid [Ahmed] is gay and muslim – the first UK reality TV star to be able to share that. I had a recent loss – we spoke about grief.

“I think the viewers are so invested in our lives at the minute and the stories.”

The Only Way is Essex returns on Sunday at 21:00 BST on ITV2 and ITVX.