Getty ImagesGemma Collins says quitting her job at a car dealership to star in The Only Way Is Essex reality TV show was a “massive risk” which paid off.
The 44-year-old shot to fame on the show in 2011, but quit four years later.
The ITV programme, also known for stars Joey Essex, Mark Wright and Chloe Sims, marked its 15th anniversary in 2025.
“I’ll always cherish it. It was special, it was just magic,” she told BBC Essex.
PA MediaCollins had been selling cars at a BMW garage in Harold Wood, east London, before she joined The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) in its second series.
She went on to become a fan favourite due to her flamboyant personality, which often landed her at the centre of some of the show’s most memorable plots.
Reflecting on her memories of the programme, Collins said: “They were wild, they were great, they were fun.
“It was a whole new era and it was just a vibe and a time and I will never, ever change [or] regret [it].”
Collins believed she “brought wisdom to the show” and her peers, having joined in her late-20s as a relatively older member of the cast.
“I’d had a lot more life experience. I’d had a real job, not like many of them,” she explained.
“I knew I had to make my mark and I knew I had to make out of it as much as I could – and I did.”
Getty ImagesCollins, who lives near Chelmsford, believes Towie will continue to air “until we all go around in flying spaceships instead of cars”.
Having appeared on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and starred in her own spin-off shows since 2014, she said Towie had propelled her to fame.
She added: “Yes, 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.”
