The Only Way Is Essex gives county a tourism boost as TOWIE fans flock to Brentwood
Its famous for white stilettos, fake tans and Essex girl jokes but now the success of the reality show The Only Way is Essex has made the eponymous English county an unlikely tourist hotspot.
Fans of the show are flocking to Brentwood High Street in the hope of bumping into the shows cast and sampling a taste of Brentwood glamour.
Visitors have been travelling from far and wide - in particular from the north of England - to visit the areas tanning salons, get a manicure and shop for sequinned fashion in Minnies boutique.
Reem retail spot: Visitors are flocking to Brentwood High Street in the hope of bumping into a member of the TOWIE cast
Staff in tanning salons on the High Street said they had even been visited by men who wanted fake tans for 'a joke' and walked out of the door 'glowing'.
In the evening, fans of the Bafta award-winning show head to the Sugar Hut nightclub for cocktails and then stay overnight at the now-famous Brentwood Travelodge hotel.
For breakfast, they make their way over to the Little Hut Caf next door where one waitress told The Guardian: 'On a Sunday morning this place ispacked.
'At 10.30am it's like a nightclub. They all come in their jim-jams and sometimes I have to send them back to their rooms to put some clothes onbecause they're in something far too revealing'.
Night out: TOWIE ! cast mem bers Harry Derbidge, left and Maria Fowler, right, arriving at The Penthouse in London's west end last night
The high streets retail space is only eight per cent empty - down from 10 per cent last year and set against 13 per cent nationwide.
Paul Sage, director of the online company Essex Tourist Guide said he wasn't sure whether the surge in visitors to the Essex town had anything to do with the ITV2 show: 'There has definitely been increased traffic on the website.
'I couldn't say for certain that is because of the show but it does seem to be since the series started last year'.
Tour operators are now cashing in on thesuccess of the reality series. Towie Tours offers the chance to discoverwhere the cast hangout, including Sugar Hut and Belles and Beaus.
Other stop-offs on the tour include Visagebar, Faces nightclub and Puppy Kit boutique for fans of pet couture.
Cocktails with the cast? The Sugar Hut nightclub has become the number one destination for TOWIE fans
VisitEngland recently published a guide to Essexs hotspots to celebrate the latest series of the show.
Featured highlights include Minnies Boutique, which is owned by sisters Sam and Billie Faiers and is often the backdrop to the shows love-life trials and tribulations, and the King William IV pub in Chigwell, where many of the celebrities hang out.
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Tourists are also urged to experience the joys of glamping - or glamorous camping - at the Bouncers Farm Gypsy Campsite in Maldon.
With spray tans, manicures and high heels its all about looking reem, smelling reem and being reem, the website states.
Fellow TOWIE stars Lauren Goodger and Lauren Pope, were also at the show's wrap party at The Penthouse last night
Ellie Constantatou of Visit Essex told TravelMail that there has been an increase in tourism recently, not just in Brentwood but to the whole of Essex, but said that it was difficult to say whether it was due to the success of the reality show.
She said: It has certainly raised awareness of Essex but I dont think people would come for just that one programme.
The county is very diverse and has lots of other attractions. Weve been promoting The Other Way Is Essex to show visitors that there is more to the county.
For example, visitors can explore the Discovery Coast which at 350 miles is one of the longest coastlines of any county in England.
'The countryside is quintessentially English and there is lots to do outdoors, such as sailing in Southend. We also have some great award-winning pubs and food, such as the world-famous Colchester oysters.
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