From Lauren Goodger’s burglar ex to Gemma Collins’ GBH convicted boyfriend – why TOWIE girls love a bad boy
One star's partner was part of a multi-million pound London drugs empire pulling in £500,000 a week
THEY have some of the most glamorous lives on TV.
But beneath the tans and shiny teeth of the Towie cast lies something much darker, as many have been innocently linked to some very shady crimes.
The latest is Hannah Voyan, who starred in the 2022 series of the ITVBe show.
We reported yesterday how her ex, Kirk Holdrick, is accused of forcing his way into actress Anya Taylor-Joy and husband Malcolm McRae’s London mansion last year.
And Hannah isn’t the first TOWIE star to have had a dodgy date.
Here we look at others seemingly drawn to a bad boy, plus two male members of the cast who have been in trouble.
Ferne McCann
WHEN she was pregnant in 2017, Ferne’s boyfriend Arthur Collins threw acid across a London nightclub dance floor, leaving 22 people injured.
Collins, 31, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after police caught him in Northamptonshire, where he fled in the wake of the horrific assault.
Ferne, 34, dumped him immediately.
She gave birth to their daughter, Sunday, later that year.
Gemma Collins
WHILE Gemma, 43, was in the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2016, her jailbird then-partner Stephen Mortimer, 43, was sent back to prison for breaching the terms of his licence by moving into her home in Brentwood.
He was originally sentenced to two years for GBH but had been released early.
When Gemma came out of the Big Brother house she broke up with him, accusing him of cheating on her.
Later in 2016, Mortimer was sentenced to more jail time for stealing £100 in coins in a burglary, 11 days after stealing some jewellery.
Amy Childs
LAST year David Peters, 38, who Amy dated for a year in 2013, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for stalking a woman and refusing to accept their break-up.
And the father of her oldest child – Polly, seven – has also been in and out of prison.
When Amy, 34, second right, first met con Bradley Wright in 2013, he already had a criminal record, but she briefly split with Wright after he was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2014 for handling stolen goods.
After rekindling their romance on his release, Amy gave birth to Polly, but the couple went on to split for a final time just six weeks after the baby’s arrival.
In 2019, Amy revealed Wright was behind bars again after being sent down for arson – meaning Polly has only met her dodgy dad four times in her entire life.
Cara Kilbey
CARA, 37, was on the show for four series before leaving in 2012.
But in the years since, the father of her three children, Daniel Harris, has been making unwelcome headlines.
He was sentenced to two years in jail in February 2017 for possessing criminal property, after cops found £116,000 in cash stuffed inside a black holdall and a stash of designer goods hidden in his daughter’s bedroom.
But he was cleared of masterminding a multi-million pound London drugs empire pulling in £500,000 a week.
Harris, who has three children with Cara, was released from Wandsworth Prison after a year, and got engaged to Cara in 2022.
Mike Hassini
HASSINI made his Towie debut in 2015, but was suspended from the show the following year after he was arrested for drink-driving and possession of cocaine.
After admitting the charges in court, Hassini, 30, vowed to change his ways and was allowed to rejoin the cast in 2017.
However, he was axed from Towie in 2018 and soon went back on his word.
In 2021, Hassini was handed a seven-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply and possession of criminal cash.
He was released in 2023, after serving just two years, and welcomed his first child with girlfriend Jessica Milford – the daughter of an oil tycoon – last month.
Lauren Goodger
TOWIE original Lauren, 38, began dating Joey Morrison in 2017, while he was serving a 16-year prison sentence.
Morrison, 38, was jailed in 2010 for dressing as a postman to burgle properties, after police found him in possession of £60,000 of cocaine and a £90,000 Land Rover.
In 2018, shortly before his release from prison, Lauren dumped him, accusing him of sending female “fans” explicit snaps from his grotty jail cell.
Dan Edgar
WITH his then-girlfriend Kate Wright, 33, who went on to become Kate Ferdinand, Dan joined the cast of Towie in 2015.
But in 2017, the 34-year-old was forced to sign a disqualification banning him from promoting, managing or being a director of any limited company until 2031, due to his role in “Reco Commodities”.
The investment business, for which he worked as operations manager, sold diamonds and jewels to customers at an inflated price then failed to deliver on the deal.
In 2018, two salesmen for Reco were jailed for conspiracy to defraud.
Bad boys go for us
Kelsey Stratford, 23, starred in Towie from 2019 to 2021. Here, she reveals why she and other Essex girls love a bad boy:
AS far as I know, none of my exes have ever done anything so naughty they got in trouble with the police, but I’ve definitely been with some bad boys.
There’s a reason we Towie girls are attracted to them.
It’s the thrill and excitement, but also we love the lavish lifestyle – like going to the Maldives or Dubai with a bad boy.
It’s quite easy to live a life like that – as long as they don’t get caught.
But it’s also that these boys are attracted to us, or at least just try to approach us.
They are always more confident.
Bad boys have huge egos and want to try to show off to everyone , so they go for us girls with lots of followers.
Maybe the good guys just need more confidence and then we’ll go for them instead . . .