Georgia Harrison has opened up about her The Only Way Is Essex experience and what really goes on behind the scenes.
The 28-year-old reality star first appeared on the show in the Ibiza special in 2014 as Fran Parman’s best friend.
She ended up in a love triangle with Lewis Bloor and Tom Pearce while on the show, before leaving and later appearing on Love Island in 2017.
Georgia has now shared how the unpredictable nature of filming TOWIE made cast members worry about getting fired and filming club scenes in the middle of the day.
Speaking to host Emma Conybeare and journalist Sarah Morton for the Slingo gossip show Getting Lippy, she revealed that some of the cast would try to get into the “thickness of the drama” to further their individual careers.
Candid: Georgia Harrison has opened up about her The Only Way Is Essex experience and what really goes on behind the scenes
Georgia recalled: ‘I’m 28 now, I went on when I was 19. I think I definitely hadn’t evolved into the person I am now.
“It was definitely less equipped to be filmed and broadcast to millions of people. I don’t know, it was a lesson learned at a good time in my life.
When asked if the show is scripted, he said: ‘No. I think a lot of people have this view that behind reality TV suddenly [the producers] Say, “Cut,” and we’re all having coffee and reading our script. People just wouldn’t get away with it. I would go out.
Georgia then talked about the hectic filming schedule, explaining, “The reason there’s so much drama and it’s so intense is because of the dynamics of the show.
“If you’re filming, it’s because you’re having some kind of drama, and if you’re not filming, then you’re worried about getting fired.
“Let’s say it’s been like three weeks of filming and you’ve only been invited to band stuff and you haven’t had much of a story, you think, one that I don’t get paid as much because I’m not filming as much.
‘Two, I’m just a spare part, maybe I should be doing more.
“And I think that’s what causes so much drama because you’re left with a group of people who, in order to get ahead in their careers, need to be in the thick of the drama.”
Throwback: The reality star, 28, first appeared on the show in the 2014 Ibiza special as Fran Parman’s best friend (pictured on the show with Georgia Kousoulou)
Georgia denied being one of these stars saying, ‘I don’t [ever go to the producers with a storyline]but if it had, it might have lasted a bit longer.
“I don’t know if it’s different now, but when I was there, we were paid by the day we filmed.
“Everyone was filming on a Sunday or a Wednesday because it was a big birthday at Nanny Pat’s or something.
“They guaranteed you that money, then every other day would only be if you’re shooting, let’s say you go on a date or you’re shooting that day, you’d get more money.”
“Also, the night before they tell you if and when you’re going to shoot, so you can’t have another job unless they’re extremely flexible.
“My mum was saying the other day that I’d be sitting there, I’d get a text like 11:30pm like you have to be at this party tomorrow, it’s Diwali themed, go and get the right outfit and you’d be like, ” How am I going to do that? I’m skinny right now and it’s tomorrow?!”
She added: “Because there’s so much to film, you have to start early and I’ve had moments where I’m in a tight dress and heels at the Sugar Hut like 11am and I’ve been like, ‘This just doesn’t feel right.’ It feels like I got here last night and never left.
Other TOWIE members have come out since appearing on the show to talk about filming.
Another who denies that the show is fake is Danielle Armstrong, who appeared between 2013 and 2020 on and off.
During an appearance on Vicky Pattison’s The Secret To podcast, Danielle admitted that she found it “infuriating” every time she was asked if the show was real.
She explained: ‘I absolutely hated that people could see so much of my real life and emotions.
I’m sure the biggest question you had with Geordie Shore and the one I had was, “Is it real? Is it real?”
“That used to infuriate me because I thought: ‘Do you really think I can act? Didn’t you see me cry every Sunday and Wednesday on ITV?’
‘We definitely cannot act. Well I’m sure some can but I definitely couldn’t and it was all so real.
Georgia said, “The reason there’s so much drama and it’s so intense is because of the dynamics of the show” (pictured with Georgia Kousoulou and Lydia Bright in 2014)
Last year, Pete Wick echoed her comments on the Saving Grace podcast, saying: ‘It’s never been written, honey. Never.’
However, he admitted that the producers set up cast members to meet up in random places.
Chloe Brockett said the same thing in 2021 in an Instagram Q&A, saying, “TOWIE is 100% real.
“Of course they put us in scenes because how else would we meet, but I always try to be myself, regardless of the consequences.”
Chloe Sims reiterated this, explaining, “In TOWIE, a crash is when you bump into someone you have a confrontation with.”
“They’ll just tell you, ‘Look, we’re shooting, you’re walking, you’re going to run into him and whatever happens.
“For a TV show, that can be quite tricky, because it could have been a two-second scene.”
Speaking about a bump between her and Pete, she said: “But we ended up having a conversation and therefore there’s a scene for TOWIE.”
“If I had decided to leave the scene and walk directly, that would have been fine too.”
TOWIE executive producer Sarah Tyekiff told Vice: “It’s unscripted. We don’t tell people what it’s going to say, and sometimes people walk onstage and don’t know they’re going to be there.
“It was pretty hard to figure out how much was written and how much was real until I got to Lime, and then I was pleasantly surprised that it was authentic.
“You actually see things and they’re so real because the cast is so brilliant and so dedicated.”
She admitted that when a new TOWIE series is about to start filming, the cast members tell all their recent drama to the producers.
She said: “Executives will sit with them in the office one on one, and they will find out what is going to happen in their lives over the next three months.”
‘What the Cast Liaison Team is working on the ground are everyone’s feelings.
‘Who is rubbing whom the wrong way, who wants to date someone. They will be the first to know if someone is crazy about someone else, even more so than the cast members, sometimes.
They’ll be watching you flirt at the tea station or whatever, so it’s your eyes and ears on the ground. And they take the story back to the story production room, which then puts it together to make the show.’
Speculation: There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to whether or not the show is fake, but cast members have always spoken out in defense of the show.
A former cast member who remained anonymous spoke to the Daily Star in 2017 and said: ‘You feel like because you signed up, you have to agree.
“There are things you’d rather keep private, but to the producers all is fair, and they’ll sweetly talk you into thinking that telling the world your darkest secrets is the best idea. It exposes you to a lot of attacks from the public.”
They added: ‘Production call, ask us what’s going on in our lives and then set everything up for the camera.
So if we say, “I’m a little upset with someone,” they’ll arrange for us to meet them. Or they’ll call us and say, “We need you to talk about this particular issue with a certain person.” It’s actually quite exhausting.