James Argent after failing a drugs test. He attended rehab over Christmas 2014. He returned to "The Only Way Is Essex" in 2015, he has lost weight and is a reformed character of his former self. Since 2010, Argent has been a cast member of the ITV2 reality series "The Only Way Is Essex". He had appeared in series 1 with his girlfriend Lydia Bright, who also appeared in series 2 and is also best friends with fellow "TOWIE" cast member Mark Wright. Finally, Argent opened his own theatre during at the studios in Essex on "TOWIE" Live in December 2012. In
Reality television in purpose and style. In 1974 a counterpart program, "The Family", was made in the UK, following the working class Wilkins family of Reading. Other forerunners of modern reality television were the 1970s productions of Chuck Barris: "The Dating Game", "The Newlywed Game", and "The Gong Show", all of which featured participants who were eager to sacrifice some of their privacy and dignity in a televised competition. The 1976-1980 BBC series "The Big Time" showed, in each of its 15 episodes, a different amateur in some field (cooking, comedy, football, etc.) trying to succeed professionally in that field, with help