Mark: ‘I PUT ON A PLAYBOY CHARACTER’
The star admits his TOWIE self wasn’t quite the real him
One of the original cast members of The Only Way is Essex, Mark Wright has admitted he invented a Lothario “character” for the show, creating drama and rows for the cameras.
“It’s real life, but also you dramatise your real-life moments, and I knew what this show needed to be popular: it needed drama. The way you create drama is people being upset and arguing,” he said on the No Boundaries podcast.
The 35 year old, who has been married to Michelle Keegan since 2015, admitted to creating drama in his long-term relationship with Lauren Goodger – who famously pushed him into a swimming pool during one row – and his flings with Sam Faiers and Lucy Mecklenburgh. “I was playing up to this playboy character. I was only young, I was a bit of a cheeky chap, yeah, but I was playing up to it more,” he said.
Keen not to come across as too much of a bad boy, Mark also revealed he’d asked the producers to portray him in a more sympathetic light. “That’s why I said to them, ‘I want Nanny Pat to be on the show, because she needs to humanise me’,” he shared. “And, a very clever move I did, looking back, I wanted Arg to be my mate. I didn’t want one of my other cheeky chap, club promoter mates to be on there. I wanted him to show I have a normal, nice side as well. That is how I balanced it.” ■