The twenty-first 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. The series began on 10 September 2017 with the cast going to Marbella, and concluded after seventeen episodes on 5 November 2017, making it the second longest series to date after it was confirmed that the lengths of each series would be extended. Ahead of the series it was announced that James Argent would be returning to the series following his break from the show. It was also confirmed that after making brief appearances during the previous series, Lauren Pope and Mario Falcone would be returning to the series as a full-time cast member. With this announcement, it was revealed that Mike Hassini would also be returning to the series having previously left the show after the eighteenth series.
Former cast member Elliott Wright also made an appearance during the second episode of the series, whilst Vas J Morgan also returned to the show mid-way through the series. This was also the first series to include new cast members Ruby Lacey and Taylor Barnett. Former cast member Danielle Armstrong also made a brief return to the series, appearing in the Halloween special episode airing on 29 October 2017. During the series, it was announced that Carol Wright had quit the show. A further Essexmas episode aired on 17 December 2017.
Cast
Episodes
Reception
Ratings Episode Date Official ITVBe rating ITVBe weekly rank ITVBe+1 viewers Total ITVBe viewers Marbs 1 10 September 2017 876,000 1 40,000 916,000 Marbs 2 13 September 2017 794,000 2 47,000 841,000 Episode 3 17 September 2017 948,000 1 42,000 990,000 Episode 4 20 September 2017 824,000 2 44,000 868,000 Episode 5 24 September 2017 843,000 1 48,000 891,000 Episode 6 27 September 2017 715,000 2 22,000 737,000 Episode 7 1 October 2017 957,000 1 36,000 993,000 Episode 8 4 October 2017 838,000 2 33,000 871,000 Episode 9 8 October 2017 855,000 1 43,000 898,000 Episode 10 11 October 2017 889,00 2 19,000 907,000 Episode 11 15 October 2017 874,000 1 71,000 945,000 Episode 12 18 October 2017 782,000 2 55,000 837,000 Episode 13 22 October 2017 923,000 1 66,000 989,000 Episode 14 25 October 2017 781,000 2 39,000 820,000 Episode 15 29 October 2017 858,000 1 52,000 910,000 Episode 16 1 November 2017 780,000 2 89,000 869,000 Episode 17 5 November 2017 923,000 1 47,000 970,000 Essexmas 17 December 2017 741,000 1 27,000 768,000 Series average 851,000 47,000 898,000
References