The Only Way Is Essex (series 8) show he briefly dated Chloe Sims but previously dated Lauren Pope off screen. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> The Only Way Is Essex (series 8) The eighth series of "The Only Way Is Essex", a British semi-reality television programme, began airing on 24 February 2013 on ITV2. The series consisted of 12 episodes. Series 8 marked the first series not to feature Lydia Bright, after her departure from the series in December 2012. The series also saw the departure of numerous supporting cast members and introduced new supporting cast members. On 7 March 2013, Mecklenburgh confirmed via her Twitter account that Amy and Sally
Reality television and hosts, and in some cases they feature reality-style contestant competition or elimination as well. These factors, as well as these shows' rise in global popularity at the same time as the arrival of the reality craze, have led to such shows often being grouped under both the reality television and game show umbrellas. There have been various hybrid reality-competition shows, like the worldwide-syndicated "Star Academy", which combines the "Big Brother" and "Idol" formats, "The Biggest Loser", which combines competition with the self-improvement format, and "American Inventor", which uses the "Idol" format for products instead of people. Some reality shows