Almost 15 years and 29 seasons later, Made in Chelsea is still one of the most popular reality shows on TV. A lot has changed since the first episode in 2011 – countless cast members are now married (some to each other), many of them have children (some with each other) and almost all of them have their own businesses, running the gamut of dog food, beer, lubricant, house plants, fintech apps, sweets and podcasting.
In other words, loyal fans of these well-to-do and sometimes absurd reality stars have watched them all grow up. Year after year, a new cohort of faces rises up through the ranks before eventually deciding to move on.
Except, that's not always what happens, is it? There are a few familiar faces who seem to love loitering around the King's Road and going on E4-expensed holidays a little more than their contemporaries. That has come to include fan favourite Ollie Locke-Locke, who has been a cast member since season one, Sophie Herman, who joined the show in 2013, and Rez Amiri-Garroussi.
When the first two episodes of season 29 aired, the most popular Google searches were not about the storylines or their group holiday in the Maldives, but about the ages of the longer-term cast members. As such, 'How old is Tristan?', 'How old is Reza?' and 'How old is Sophie?' are all breakout search terms.
While it's none of our business why anyone chooses to stay on the show – for what it's worth Tristan is dating one of the newer cast members, Jules Pollard; Rez has just got back with long-term cast member Ruby Adler; and Sophie brings some much-needed glamour to the show – there can be something slightly jarring about seeing cast members clash, gossip, cheat and mess around in fancy bars with each other when there are sometimes decades between them.
Harvey Armstrong, who recently joined the show in 2019 and has been involved in several dramatic storylines over the years, summarised this feeling perfectly in an interview about leaving the show. 'As much as I love Made In Chelsea and have had some amazing years, it has a shelf life, and the time has come for me to leave the show. There's a lot of emotional bandwidth that goes with filming your life for TV and it's a distraction and can be very draining. I have to clear my head.'
He added, 'Being a businessman has always been my goal and building up my company, Prime Time, has fully taken off and now needs my full attention.' Harvey added that he can't be a 'CEO and founder with 12 staff members' while his love life plays out on TV.
That's not to say there is not a place for reality stars of all ages, there certainly is. Everything from Gogglebox to Bake Off to Big Brother and First Dates are all far more accommodating of different age groups and don't (necessarily) require their participants to give as much away about their personal lives.
Ultimately, though, Harvey is right. Shows like Made in Chelsea ask a lot of their cast members (and those who don't get involved are quickly get labelled 'boring'), but audiences understand that there is a shelf life to them. There is a reason Joey Essex didn't fare well when he went on Love Island two years ago, having done almost every other reality show up until that point. It's because his days of getting away with ladish behaviour, lovers' tiffs and dramatic showdowns are over.
You know what they say, sometimes it's better to leave before the party's over...
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).