‘Producers told us to tone down the drama’

The Real Housewives franchise has spread around the world, with viewers lapping up the partying and catfighting of wealthy socialites in locations from Orange County to Sydney to Nairobi. But there hasn’t been a series based in London – until now.

“Go back to Paddington.”

On its own, it sounds harmless enough, more like directions than an insult. But for Belgravia’s gilded set, being told to leave the rarefied streets and return to a supposedly less desirable part of the English capital cuts deep.

It’s Amanda Cronin, a former model and now skincare founder, who makes the remark in a clip from The Real Housewives of London.

For Cronin and her five co-stars – Juliet Angus, Karen Loderick-Peace, Juliet Mayhew, Panthea Parker, and Nessie Welschinger – it’s just one of the many dramatic moments as the international franchise arrives in the city.

Speaking in a West End hotel, Cronin laughs about how quickly the insult went viral and stands by the fact that her co-star Angus, an American socialite who also appeared in Ladies of London, should be banished from SW3.

Cronin says she “didn’t hesitate” when she was asked to be on the show. “It’s just a massive opportunity and such a blessing – to be a housewife is huge so I grabbed it and ran with it.”

Parker, an Iranian-born north London socialite, admits she had her doubts about joining, but didn’t want to live with the regret of turning down such a big franchise.

And the brand really is huge – there have been 11 US editions and more than 30 international ones.

The London version’s cast claim their exploits put the rest in the shade, with producers cutting the cameras and telling the women to dial down the drama at times.

Angus says producers of other reality shows often bemoan that everyone is getting on and there isn’t enough drama. “But that did not happen once” on this series, she says.

Cronin says: “The producers came to my room one day and said ‘You’re too strong, your blows are too low and there was too much drama’.”

Parker adds that producers told her they were doing her a favour by cutting out parts of an argument in the first episode.

“I don’t think anyone has seen anything like this before,” says Welschinger, an award-winning cake designer whose creations have graced Buckingham Palace.

Perhaps the reason for so much friction is the fact that the group of six women weren’t friends before the show.

They knew of each other, but the links are tenuous – some share a dentist, others mingled in the same circles, while a few attended similar exclusive soirées in the capital.

Emotions certainly did run high when they came together for the show, and many of the women admit to having regrets about saying certain things, or feel embarrassed about how they acted when the cameras were rolling.

But Loderick-Peace, a Housewives veteran from Jersey UK and Cheshire, says she doesn’t dwell on her mistakes.

“You cannot live your life looking in the rear view mirror, you’re going to stress yourself out. You just have to own it and life is about making mistakes, rising up, brushing yourself off and starting all over again.”

The group grew closer “because we spend so much time together filming”, she adds.

“Filming feels like a year, so you get to know each other on another level. We even got to know each other better than how we know some of our closest friends.”

Before stepping in front of the cameras, the London housewives sought advice from women who had previously been in their positions.

Mayhew, an Australian-born former Miss Galaxy Universe, jokes that Taleen Marie from the Dubai show advised her to take lots of Valium. Welschinger says Lisa Barlow from Salt Lake City told her to “enjoy every second because a lot of women want this but not everyone can get it”.

Loderick-Peace adds that several existing housewives told her the most important thing was to “just be yourself” – and all the London cast insist they have put their authentic selves on screen.

“You can’t curate a persona because audiences realise that,” she explains.

Most of the housewives are no strangers to reality TV, and as a result tend to forget the cameras are rolling after a while.

But that’s not always the case for their families. We meet spouses and children, some of whom are more enthusiastic than others about being tangentially pulled into the Real Housewives vortex.

“I sat down and discussed the pros and cons with my family, and after three weeks everyone said yes,” Parker says. Except one, that is.

“My eldest son didn’t want to be in it at all and I begged him to be on a FaceTime so he did. Then he was regretting it, but I said he was giving himself too much importance and it was probably only going to be two seconds.”

Cronin and Loderick-Peace’s children chose not to appear, but Welschinger says her whole family, particularly her husband, enjoyed the experience.

“I think it was because the production team made you feel safe and they know what they’re doing so you can trust the process.”

The husbands, usually dressed in suits as they leave for work or take business calls, appear fleetingly in the first episode.

For some of the housewives, their lifestyle is made entirely possible through the salaries of their spouses.

Loderick-Peace, whose husband is the former chairman and owner of West Bromwich Albion football club, says that’s not the full picture. “Behind every successful man there’s a strong woman and men can’t do it on their own,” she says.

Parker reveals her mother-in-law wanted her son to marry a woman who also worked. “My husband said, ‘Why would I do that if I have a woman that’s going to be making my home amazing, treating me like a king and making sure there’s no stress when I come back from work?'” she says.

Some critics claim the Real Housewives franchise is inherently anti-feminist – an exercise in pitting women against each other for entertainment.

But the cast push back on that narrative. As well as the heightened drama we see on screen, the friendships, mentoring and mutual support have emerged, they say, and continued after the cameras stopped rolling.

The Real Housewives of London is available to watch on Hayu from 18 August.