🎤 Interview with former TOWIE star Bobby Norris

Beyond the drama of the Sugar Hut, Bobby has used his platform for far more than entertainment. He raised vital awareness for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan following his mum's leukaemia diagnosis, and famously took his campaign against online homophobic abuse all the way to Parliament.

In this candid chat, Bobby reflects on his legendary rows with Gemma Collins, the celebrities who left him starstruck - including the late, great Paul O'Grady - the pressures of cosmetic procedures in the filter age, and why he believes today's reality stars need "skin like a rhino" to survive the industry.

Q: So let's start with TOWIE. Why do you think TOWIE has lasted so long? What's allowed it to stand the test of time?

BN: I think TOWIE was the first of its kind, and it's become like a soap now. It's just an ongoing thing, and as the original show that led the way for Geordie Shore and Made in Chelsea, it's iconic, isn't it?

Q: When you look back now, what are your proudest moments from the show?

BN: I just think the awareness I could raise for Anthony Nolan and leukaemia when my mum was diagnosed. It wasn't a cancer I knew anything about really, and I think any awareness for any cancer or any illness is an amazing thing. So I'm forever grateful to TOWIE and ITV for allowing me to do that on the show.

Q: If you're on a show for over a decade, it's going to have a massive impact on your life. So how much did being on TOWIE change your life?

BN: Oh, it completely changed my life. Back then there were no ongoing reality shows, we were the first. Influencers didn't exist, Instagram didn't exist, so we were kind of just learning on the job. I think people that do reality TV now have a blueprint. We were the OGs.

Q: What would you say is the biggest misconception people have about TOWIE?

BN: I think with TOWIE, and probably Essex in general, people think we're all a little bit stupid. Especially before TOWIE, when people thought of an Essex girl, they thought of white stilettos. But if you look at the girls on the show back in the day, they all became businesswomen; they all had shops, so we're not as thick as people think we are. I mean, I'm not Stephen Fry, do you know what I mean? And I'm not going to be the new Attenborough, but I'm not Donny Dimple either. What I know, I'm really good at, and what I don't know, I'm no good at.

Q: Is there anything you think viewers would still be shocked to learn about filming TOWIE? Anything behind the scenes?

BN: Do you know what's still funny today? I think people are slowly getting their heads around it, but for a long time people would say, "What's your name in real life?" because there was always a disclaimer from Denise Van Outen, saying some things have been set up for your entertainment. I think they thought it was like EastEnders or Corrie. I was like, "No, my name is Bobby." And they'd say, "What? It's fake." I was like, "Well, us all ending up in the same place has to be produced, because there's got to be a camerawoman or a cameraman there." So I think people have slowly started to realise that our names are our names, and it's not EastEnders. But what they don't really realise is the intensity of when you're filming. You've got producers calling you every day because they want to know what's going on off camera. So it's a big machine, TOWIE.

Q: Who would you say was the funniest cast member when the cameras weren't rolling, behind the scenes?

BN: Funniest? Oh, that's a hard one. Do you know what, I think we all brought something different to the table. Funny wise, probably Gem. She used to make me laugh.

Q: And was there one cast member that surprised you the most off camera?

BN: In what way?

Q: Did they act different when the cameras were around, or was everyone just what you see is what you get?

BN: I think because I was on it from early doors, there was no misconception. As the years went on it was probably different for the newer cast, but we just took it for what it was. And do you know the thing as well? I always used to say that if there was a behind the scenes after show of TOWIE, it would be more dramatic than what actually makes it to camera. So yeah, the drama is very much real.

Q: And looking back, is there anything you would have done differently during your time on the show?

BN: What would I do differently? Do you know what, I don't believe in regrets. It's a reality show, and you've got to bare all, which I always did. The good, the bad and the ugly. And I'm not someone that self edits, probably to my detriment. But when I look back, especially on TikTok now, at the rows me and Gemma used to have, I was the only one who wasn't scared of her. I look at it now and I'm like, "Oh my god," saying I'd “rip her cheap wig off her head” and all that. But yeah, it is what it is!

Q: If you ever did return to TOWIE, what version of Bobby would viewers see today compared to previously?

BN: Oh gosh, well, when I started I think I was 24, and I'm a lot more wise now, which would probably be shocking to some people because they still think I'm thick as mince. But you just look at life differently, do you know what I mean? Things I used to stand and row about and scream about, or things I used to get the hump over, are not that big a deal. When you've got your health, that's everything. Do you know what I mean?

And really stupid little Essex whispers going round and stupid stuff like that, you've just got to think it's kids' stuff. But it's part of growing up.

Q: Do you feel like reality TV has become more polished compared to when you started?

BN: Oh God, one hundred percent. It had to. It's now a genre, and it wasn't back in the day. Now we have duty of care, and it's a very polished machine. Back in the day, it was just a group of mates with a microphone. We'd just go to the club, and if we were having a row, we'd have a row. If people were loving each other, they were loving each other. It was so real. But I think producers have realised, obviously after things that have happened as the years have gone by, that there does have to be a duty of care.

Q: What do you miss most about those early days?

BN: I think it was so exciting for us, and we couldn't really understand who was watching it, because it was just us going to the Sugar Hut or the coffee shop. And it was so big then. We were getting like two or three million viewers an episode, and we were like, "We don't understand it." We just thought it would always be a six week fly on the wall kind of thing. So I didn't think I'd still be here fourteen or fifteen years later.

Q: And would you say, from your experience in the latter years, social media has made it a lot harder for reality TV stars?

BN: One hundred percent. I love social media, and I think because I've done the whole campaigning in Parliament, people think I hate it. I don't hate it, but it's such a beast of a thing. Now, when people do reality TV, whether it's subconscious or not, I don't know, they're always self editing. They're worrying about what the followers will say. When we had a row, we had a row back in the day. We didn't care what anyone thought. But I think people worry about being cancelled and about social media trolls. So yeah, it's a whole different element. It's not just magazines and papers anymore, it's there 24/7.

Q: Do you think, from the reality TV production side, a lot more needs to be done to protect contestants' mental health?

BN: I think they've absolutely got it on the money now. As the years have gone on it's changed. When we started, we saw a psych, but it wasn't what it is today. Reality TV isn't what it was. Whatever show you do, whatever channel, they are very hot on that, and quite rightly so.

Q: Would you recommend young people today going on reality TV?

BN: I don't think it's something you can recommend. A lot of people think it's easy, and a lot of people like the look of it, but very few will succeed at it.

It takes a certain person, and that's why you've seen so many people come and go over the years, because it's a very strange industry. You've got to have thick, thick skin, like a rhino.

Q: Do you feel like cancel culture makes reality TV less entertaining?

BN: That's a good question. I was saying earlier in the interview that some of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes is so much more dramatic, but it would be irresponsible to put that on air. Do you know what I mean? And you've got to be very aware of the following that TOWIE and all the reality shows have. It's a demographic of younger people, but it goes across the board. I won't say who it was, but I remember we had a press night, and this new cast member came up and said, "I can't believe you're still here. I used to watch you at primary school." And I thought, "Cheeky sod, I'm still here." But it makes you think that people grow up watching it from primary school. I don't know what they're getting from TOWIE at primary school, but who knows?

Q: If there's one thing, positive or negative, that you would change about reality TV today, what would that be?

BN: Oh, what would I change? What I would change is the social media side, although I guess that's a bit of a cop out, isn't it? TOWIE has its disclaimer, but people do have to realise that when people are on a TV show, whether it's Love Island, TOWIE, whatever it is, you can like people and you can dislike them, but it goes to a whole different level. When you're sending death threats and you're outside their house and there's police involved, what's going on? It's no longer an entertainment show, it's becoming dark. So I think there has to be a line drawn. I think maybe reality TV is such an open book now that people think they're entitled to come to your house.

Q: Who's been the most supportive celebrity you've met throughout your career? It doesn't have to be someone you met on TOWIE.

BN: Do you know who was always very lovely? Paul O'Grady.

I was starstruck by him, but I'm only starstruck when it's people I grew up watching. New fame, from since I've been in the public eye, is not the same as the people I watched when I was a little kid. And he was always lovely, and I think that's why he had a successful career. But as I say, it's a very strange industry. You can't be a wallflower. You've got to have thick skin, I think, in life and on social media in general now.

Q: Who's the funniest celebrity you've spent time with?

BN: Alan Carr, I think, is the first that comes to mind. We used to do sketches, and I think we were at Southend Beach in the middle of winter filming his Christmas special, in a Winnebago. It was just hilarious.

Q: Is there any celebrity where you maybe had a preconception of them, and then you met them and your mind completely changed?

BN: Ooh. See, I don't really ever have preconceptions of people. You've got to really meet them, and I know what being on TV and things can be like. You don't see the full picture, so not really. I like to know someone in person, and I take them for that, not for what I've seen on the television.

Q: Are there any celebrities where, even though you're obviously in the public eye yourself, you've been starstruck meeting them?

BN: Yeah, one hundred percent. So, Paul O'Grady.

And Ed Sheeran.

For me, it's anyone that was famous before I did this job. It's just the maddest job.

They're just normal people. That's the thing.

Q: When did you first become interested in cosmetic procedures?

BN: When I started TOWIE, it was the era of everything to excess. The girls had the hair extensions and the spray tans, and I just went down the rabbit hole with fillers and completely went too far.

Q:  Would you advise people away from it, or would you let them make their own choice?

BN: It's not for me to be God and tell people what to do. If they want to do it, do it. If someone tried to advise me against surgery, which they do, I'd still do it. Do you know what I mean? People have to make their own choices.

Q: Do you feel like attitudes towards cosmetic procedures have changed since you spoke about them so openly?

BN: It's definitely getting there. I think some people still judge it, and we still get trolled, but Botox now, you can have it done in the dentist or in the hairdressers. It's like having a blow dry.

Q: Would you say there's still way too much pressure on people in the public eye to look a certain way?

BN: Do you know what I would say? Not even just people in the public eye. I think it's social media, the use of filters and everything like that. I've spoken to surgeons, and people are filtering their photos and going to the surgeon saying, "Make me look like that." Well, that's not real. You can't. I think more so than fame it’s social media.

Q: Would you say that had an impact on yourself?

BN: Yeah, definitely. It's hard to say because of the age I was, and it was that kind of era. But I've definitely felt it, and if I'm honest, I still feel pressure.

But I no longer try to please anyone. Do you know what I mean? I do what I want to do for me.