Amy Childs quits 'The Only Way Is Essex'

Amy Childs quits 'The Only Way Is Essex' (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

The Only Way Is Essex star Amy Childs has quit the show after a disagreement with producers over her TV career, according to The Sun. The paper reports that the 21-year-old beautician - who is one of TOWIE's most popular stars - is keen to take part in other shows and is rumoured to have had a number of offers worth £500,000. These reportedly include a £200,000 deal to take part in the new series of Celebrity Big Brother, which begins on Five in August. However TOWIE bosses expressed concerns over Amy and other cast members taking part in other reality shows as it may threaten the success of the show - which they maintain is largely down to viewers seeing them as 'real people' and not celebrities. "The Only Way Is Essex is a community show. It stars TOWIE people, not Big Brother wannabes - it's new and fresh," an insider told the paper. "It's bizarre that Amy wants to do a show that was axed last year for being out of date. "It's sad that she's leaving - viewers liked her," the source added. "But no-one's bigger than the show." Amy also recently began appearing on daytime show This Morning, where she has been presenting a beauty section.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.