Famed for its drink swilling, inter-friendship group cheating scandals and rah accents, Made in Chelsea has certainly made its mark in the reality TV landscape. Now in its 28th series, those things are all still true, but nearly every familiar face from 2011 has moved on.
Binky Felstead, Rosie Fortescue and Lucy Watson are three such faces. Having joined the cast in 2011 and 2012 respectively, they are widely considered to be ‘OG’ cast members. As such, they are the three leads in E4’s new spin-off, Beyond Chelsea, which follows the lives of the three women as they navigate their thirties.
Between them they are now mums, business owners, wives, homeowners and social media influencers. Their day to day lives might involve more nappy changes than awkward showdowns in Embargos, but they cannot wait to let fans back into their lives.
‘Since leaving Made in Chelsea, I get about nine messages in my DMs most weeks asking when people are going to see us back together again,’ reveals Binky, who left the show in 2017. ‘I think Beyond Chelsea is kind of an obvious next stage. Having been in our early twenties filming Made in Chelsea, it was all about relationships, who’s fallen out with who, who’s cheated on who, and that was fine for our early twenties but now I feel like there’s way more going on in our lives.’
We can expect to meet Binky’s husband Max Darnton and their two sons, Wolfie and Wilder, as well as her daughter India from her past relationship with former co-star Josh Patterson. Lucy’s seven-month-old son Willoughby is also expected to feature, alongside her husband and former co-star James Dunmore. While Rosie introduces her twin sister Lili into the mix. Made in Chelsea fans will also be pleased to hear that old favourites like ‘Mummy Felstead’, Tiffany Watson, Ollie Locke, Clive Watson and even Stevie Johnson are set to pop up in the miniseries.
For many legacy viewers, news of Beyond Chelsea came with hopes of a full ensemble reunion. What about fellow ‘OGs’ like Caggie Dunlop, Millie Mackintosh, Hugo Taylor and Spencer Matthews? ‘It’s not really up to us,’ says Lucy. ‘It’s up to the production team and the channel and it’s also up to people if they want to be part of it or not. I think I speak for all of us when I say none of us have issues with anyone. If people want to join – the more the merrier!’
Sadly, gone are the days when Rick Edwards would regularly get the whole cast back together to dissect their scenes. Those hoping to see Gabriella Ellis tinkering on the piano or Spencer and Funda at loggerheads on an E4 sofa might be disappointed.
A marked difference between Made in Chelsea and it’s elder sibling, according to the three stars, is the way it’s filmed to show their ‘real lives’ and ‘true friendships’. ‘If we don’t hang out with somebody, it would be really odd to hang out with them on the show because that would just come across on camera,’ Binky suggests.
Mind you, Lucy, Rosie and Binky weren’t exactly a trio on the original show. ‘Binky has definitely brought us all together I would say,’ offers Rosie. And Lucy agrees, ‘The three of us all had conversations with the production company, and it seemed like a great fit. I think we are all from the show, we’re all in our 30s, but we’re all living quite different lives in a way. We’ve all got different things going on so there’s a nice balance. People watching can feel like they can relate to at least one of us.’
In having more control over how it’s filmed and what they show, the cast promise that they are more open than ever before. ‘I’ve definitely shown more than I’ve ever shown of my personal life,’ says Rosie. ‘It’s been really lovely because it’s felt so much more casual and easier as opposed to a setup scene.’
There will be a few callbacks to the old days too. Rosie wants to ‘set the record straight’ about something that ‘didn’t happen’ that she was ‘accused of doing’ back in the day. Is it safe for fans to assume that she is referring to the moment when Millie accused her of sleeping with Hugo while they were still together – on stage at a fancy party in front of the whole cast? ‘I would not allow that to happen to me by somebody who I thought was a friend at the time.’
Binky, for her part, prefers not to think about some of her fruitier scenes. ‘Oh my god, watching myself take back a certain someone hundreds of times after cheating on me and ignoring Miss Watson’s advice. You can’t help but look back and think “if I could do that differently”. It’s quite mad to think our kids will probably watch one day and we can’t say “don’t do what I did” and expect them to listen, because mummy and daddy did the same.’
Lucy on the other hand has no regrets. ‘I made some questionable choices,’ she laughs, ‘there are definitely some cringeworthy moments, maybe even some outfit choices, but what’s done is done. I’m the person I am today because of the things I’ve done and the choices I’ve made. I just have to embrace it all.’
If viewers enjoy Beyond Chelsea as much as the three stars hope they will, Binky thinks it has legs to become a full series. ‘I personally think it would be great. It’s just been really fun to be with the girls again,' she adds. 'We’ve grown up together and we were a family. It was quite a unique experience! I don’t have a lot of friends who can say they did what we did. I just really hope everyone enjoys it.’
Beyond Chelsea is available to watch on E4 on 29 October.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).