If you haven’t heard of ‘The Only Way is Essex’, you’re probably from another planet. For those who haven’t seen the show but want to know everything, this article is for you.
The show is actually a ‘dramaturgy’, which means that it is a type of reality show that is unscripted and generally features ordinary people rather than professional actors. Its Wikipedia page describes the show as “real people in modified situations, speaking unscripted lines but in a structured way.” The show is filmed in Essex just days in advance and narrated by Essex-born Denise van Outen. There have been 4 series and the recent series ended in February 2012. The first series was the most popular and made Mark Wright and Amy Child household names. Amy has since left the show and moved on to ‘big brother’. Since then he has had his own reality show and beauty salon, and Mark was a finalist in “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here.”
The show has had some complaints to ITV2 as several people think it is a negative representation of Essex.
Since the series burst onto British television screens in 2010, many new words and phrases have become fashionable. The show looks a bit like marijuana; Or you love it, or hate it. The name of the show itself has been shortened to ‘TOWIE’, which obviously means ‘The Only Way is Essex’. Below is a list of other words and phrases that have been made famous by the show.
What are vajazzles?
Vajazzles are glass ‘tattoos’ that are attached to the skin near very intimate parts of your body. The word is a combination of two words, vagina and dazzle. You can have them applied by a beautician and they can cost up to £ 100. But many stores now stock crystal gems so you can easily glue them on.
What does “reem” mean?
Reem is a word used to describe anything that looks or smells attractive, fit, healthy, or fresh. Joey Essex made him famous on the show and even created a song called ‘Reem’ in August 2011 with the cast featured in the video.
What does “bien jel” mean?
This means ‘very jealous’. So to put a sentence, you could say, “I love your coat, I’m fine jel.” This basically means that they love the coat and that they are very jealous.
Sha’ap!
Sha’ap is a way of saying ‘shut up!’ You have to say it with an Essex accent to get the right effect. If you saw the recent announcement for the latest series, you would have seen one of the new cast members using this sentence.
Another word that has become more popular since the show is “baby.” Many of the show’s characters have repeatedly used this word to describe an attractive young man.
So there you go, that’s TOWIE in a nutshell. You’ll have to watch the show to really understand what all the fuss was about. You can buy the first series on DVD and fans can even take a tour of the locations.