The Only Way Is Essex cast set for big shake up as eight stars leave

The Only Way Is Essex cast has seen a huge shake up with a number of stars leaving ahead of the new series.

It’s been revealed that a host of familiar faces won’t be back for 2019.

They include Myles Barnett and his Love Island star girlfriend Kady McDermott, who joined the show last year.

Chloe Lewis and Jon Clark are said to have ‘mutually agreed’ to bow out, together with Chris Clark, Adam Oukhellou, Dean Ralph and Jordan Wright.

In an online post on her social media, Chloe said: “After a long four years on The Only Way Is Essex, I’m happy to announce I have decided to leave the show. My life isn’t in it anymore and I feel as if it’s the right time for me to move on to other things.

“I’ve had a wonderful time being part of the cast on the show and have made friends for life, I really couldn’t of got through the last year without my Courtney and Chloe. Absolute true gems!

“TOWIE has brought me such amazing opportunities and I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s taught me so much and made me who I am today. Thank you for everyone’s amazing support over the years and truly am very grateful. The best thing I’ve learnt in this crazy world, is to be strong and to follow your heart. So here we go! Here’s to 2019 it’s gonna be a good one!”

Myles Barnett also shared on his Instagram: “After an eventful two years at TOWIE with many highs and lows I have taken the decision upon myself to leave TOWIE. When something no longer fulfils you, makes your grow as a person or even just makes you happy it’s best to leave it in the past.

“This year I am solely focusing on my career and my relationship with Kady as they are the most important things to me right now, and the show wasn’t benefiting either of them. As most of you will probably know TOWIE brought out a side to me I wasn’t always proud of, as much as I enjoyed my time on it I started to find it very toxic and negative environment for myself.

“I am the happiest I’ve been in a very long time and I would like to keep it that way by removing any negativity in my life. I’m going to use my social media so you can all get an insight of my life and the highlights and get to know the real me, and more importantly so I can control how my life is shown instead of it being in the hands of tv editors who are strangers to me.

“Thank you for all your support the last two years, I have grown a lot as a person and I will forever be thankful for the experience and the life lessons it taught me.”

According to The Sun newspaper, producers have been on the hunt for fresh faces to replace the outgoing cast members.

A source told the tabloid: “TOWIE bosses have had their biggest ever casting drive so far in the show’s history.

“Casting producers have been hanging out in all the top Essex hotspots like Sheesh to find the next generation of stars.”

A spokesperson for the show commented: “A number of cast have been notified that they’re not being contracted for the start of series 24 as we look to bring in some fresh new faces, however we’ve always maintained that cast can return as and when the timing is right for them and the show.

“It’s how TOWIE has stayed so fresh and exciting for nearly a decade. We remain grateful to every single cast member that has featured in TOWIE and contributed to its huge success.”

The Only Way Is Essex airs on ITVBe.