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TOWIE bosses were accused of acting irresponsibly after axing 10 young cast members ‘without warning’ after they were promised stardom.
Courtney Green, Chloe Meadows, Clelia Theodorou, Nicole Bass, Kelsey Stratford, Ella Rae Wise, Harry Lee, Harry Derbidge, Rem Larue, and Tom McDonnell were dropped by the ITVBe series ahead of the show’s 29th series last month.
In a statement confirming the news last month, the BAFTA award-winning show stressed the importance of wellbeing and said it would continue to offer welfare support if needed to all past and present cast members – despite new claims that the show was not sensitive in its treatment of axed stars.
A talent management sourcetold MailOnline: “It has been a challenging two years for most people financially, this was their career and TOWIE effectively sacked a bunch of youngsters from their jobs and for what reason?
“There was no problem with anyone on the show, they could have given them another six months or the chance to look for other opportunities, but to just fire them all overnight was irresponsible.”
The news came as a blow to stars who believed that they were attending a meeting to discuss their future storylines.
An axed cast member who can’t be named for legal reasonstold MailOnline: “The entire cast were phoning each other asking "am I sacked? Am I sacked?" The way it was done, they showed no remorse and didn't take our feelings into account. It was brutal, like a massacre. Some people were really upset and crying.
“Producers recruited a load of youngsters and thought they were going to make it work but now they've chucked them all off. One newbie was told "you're going to be a star" and was reassured they'd be on the next series, but it was all short-lived.”
Contractual restrictions prevent the axed cast members from speaking on the record about how the situation was handled by TOWIE bosses.
Fans took to Twitter to share their disappointment over the news.
One viewer said: “I’m really sad Chloe and Courtney have been axed from TOWIE.”
Courtney Green, 26, joined the series in 2016. She is known for her toxic relationship with ex TOWIE co-star Myles Barnett, and is best friends with Chloe Meadows, 28, who also joined the show in 2016, and is notorious for her bitter rows with on-off pal Amber Turner.
One disgruntled viewer said: “Some of the best people from TOWIE have been axed. I’m not happy about it tbh, if you think this was gunna save your show you’ve just lost another watcher.”
Another fan of the show said: “Whattt, TOWIE have axed cast members. it’s not gonna be the same I loved everyone’s drama.”
The show’s reduced cast will now focus on the lives of Chloe Brockett, Chloe Sims, Pete Wicks, and Amy Childs, with the show’s social media post about the announcement saying: “This change allows our cast more time to film their real lives, showing more of their personal passions and professions, alongside their strong bonds and dynamics with family and friends.”
In a Q&A with fans last month,Chloe Sims, 38, took to Instagram stories to say she had "no plans to leave" before wishing the ten axed cast members “good luck with their futures”.
ITV did not respond to OK!’s request for comment.
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