The Only Way Is Essex (2010)

Name: The Only Way Is Essex
Genre: Reality-TV
Rating: 3.2
Cast: Denise Van Outen

Reality-TV

Part soap opera, part reality show, TOWIE follows the lives, loves and scandals of a group of real-life Essex guys and girls. Cameras capture the happenings at all kinds of glamorous locations as the cast meet up in nail bars, nightclubs and salons. Each episode features action filmed just a few days previously.

IMDb rating: 3.2 (2,416 votes)
Episode average: 4.8 ↑ +1.6 vs IMDb
Seasons: 5
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Slow burn trajectory: later seasons lift off. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Slow burn show in the explorer →

Browse all Slow burn shows in the explorer → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 5 seasons indexed

Cast

Denise Van Outen Voiceover

Seasons

Season 1 (2010)

4.66 avg 12 episodes 5.5 → 4.5 30 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Episode #1.1	5.5	15
2	Episode #1.2	4.2	13
3	Episode #1.3	4.1	11
4	Episode #1.4	4.3	12
5	Episode #1.5	4.2	11
6	Episode #1.6	4.9	9
7	Episode #1.7	4.7	9
8	Episode #1.8	4.9	9
9	Episode #1.9	4.9	9
10	Episode #1.10	5.2	10
11	Totally Vajazzled	4.5	9
12	The Only Way Is EsseXmas 2010 Special	4.5	10

Season 2 (2011)

4.41 avg 15 episodes 5.0 → 3.7 35 min avg

Bad finale

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Episode #2.1	5.0	12
2	Episode #2.2	4.8	12
3	Episode #2.3	4.7	12
4	Episode #2.4	4.6	11
5	Episode #2.5	4.6	12
6	Episode #2.6	4.1	10
7	Episode #2.7	4.2	11
8	Episode #2.8	4.2	11
9	Episode #2.9	4.2	11
10	Episode #2.10	4.3	10
11	Episode #2.11	4.1	10
12	Episode #2.12	4.2	11
13	Episode #2.13	4.9	12
14	Episode #2.14	4.5	11
15	TOWIE: Reem All About It	3.7	7

Season 3 (2011)

4.87 avg 15 episodes 4.8 → 5.2 35 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Episode #3.1	4.8	12
2	Episode #3.2	5.1	11
3	Episode #3.3	4.6	8
4	Episode #3.4	4.7	9
5	Episode #3.5	4.8	8
6	Episode #3.6	4.6	8
7	Episode #3.7	5.0	8
8	Episode #3.8	5.3	10
9	Episode #3.9	4.6	8
10	Episode #3.10	4.6	8
11	Episode #3.11	4.6	8
12	Episode #3.12	4.8	9
13	Episode #3.13	4.6	8
14	Episode #3.14	5.7	11
15	The Only Way Is EsseXmas 2011 Special	5.2	10