THE Only Way is Essex burst onto our screens 13 years ago and its cast has been spotted in and around Colchester many times over the years.

The north Essex city has been used as a filming location for the ITV docusoap on several occasions since the first series when original cast member Kirk Norcross took his on-screen co-star Amy Childs on a date at Colchester Zoo.

But that was just the first of many visits to Colchester for the Towie cast.

In 2017, Chloe Lewis was spotted walking down Crouch Street to film at the former Qube nightclub (now Truth).

She was joined by reality TV royalty Gemma Collins and Megan McKenna - who both also appeared on the 17th series of Celebrity Big Brother.

A nearby business owner claimed to have seen a parking warden slap a parking ticket on Gemma's white Range Rover which had been left in a loading bay.

Rollerworld was also once used as a filming location, as was the Five Lakes resort in Tolleshunt D'Arcy where sisters Sam and Billie Faiers were spotted alongside Lucy Mecklenburgh and Maria Fowler.

It's not all work and no play, though, with Charlie Sims and Mario Falcone popping into the city centre for a shopping trip at menswear retailer Baccus, in Sir Isaac's Walk, in 2013.

The shop's website crashed after a second visit to the shop, where they were joined by Ricky Rayment.

More recently, Towie original Mark Wright, who was known in the show's early years for his on-off relationship with Lauren Goodger, was spotted by an eagle-eyed Essex Police officer who grabbed him for a selfie before he headed to the Essex coast.

The Only Way is Essex fans have now enjoyed 32 series of the show.

Today's cast is very different from series one, which aired in 2010, with only Amy Childs and her cousin Harry Derbidge being the only original cast members to appear in the latest series.

Towie airs on ITVBe and is available to stream on ITVX.