Country of origin United Kingdom Original network ITVBe | No. of episodes 10 | |
Original release 9 October (2016-10-09) – 9 November 2016 (2016-11-09) | ||
The nineteen series of the British reality television programme The Only Way Is Essex was confirmed on 3 June 2015 when it was announced that it had renewed for at least a further six series, taking it up to 21 series. It is the fourth series to be included in its current contract. The series will launch on 9 October 2016 with a The Only Way is Marbs special. Ahead of the series it was confirmed that former cast member Lauren Goodger would be making her return to the series having previously appeared during the first to the sixth series, and then again during the 2015 Essexmas special. This is the first series not to include Billie Faiers, after it was announced she had quit the show. It includes the first appearances of new cast members Ben Shenel and Ercan Ramadan. Mario Falcone and Frankie Essex also made a surprise one-off return to the series during the final episode of the series to celebrate Chloe Sims's 35th birthday. Love Island winners Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde both made another guest appearance during the eighth episode. Original cast member James Argent was also absent for most of this series due to him taking a break from the show. A further two Essexmas specials aired in December 2016, where Danni Armstrong announced her departure from the series.
The series focused heavily on Bobby's mission to conquer his fears, the breakdown of Amber and Chris's relationship causing a divide between the boys and the girls, and the aftermath of Lockie and Danni's shock break-up. It also includes Megan and Pete's turbulent relationship hitting more rough patches until they eventually reconcile.