'It's about building her life again

While Mark Wright hits back at some recent backlash, Lauren Goodger is looking forward to rejoining TOWIE and wants to prove she's no longer in Mark's 'shadow'

- Isobel Pankhurst

It's more than a decade since Mark Wright and Lauren Goodger shot to fame as two of TOWIE's original cast members. The pair were in a relationship when the explosive reality show first hit our screens in 2010, but they split in 2012 and went their separate ways.

Although they've had little to do with each other since leaving the show, both Lauren and Mark have been hitting the headlines in recent weeks. Mark has been reacting to a backlash over the launch of his clothing range, while for Lauren, it seems to be her time to shine.

Mark, who's married to Fool Me Once star Michelle Keegan, was left upset by reports that his recent pop-up for his fitness brand Aytee7 was a flop.

Photos from the event seemed to imply there were empty queue areas, and that security guards were standing around with little to do. However, it would seem this wasn't a fair depiction of the entire day, with Mark later sharing snaps of a huge crowd that turned up.

Taking to Instagram to directly respond, Mark, 37, shared photos of the crowd, writing alongside it, "Never really do this, as it's never been something that bothers me. Especially when it's normally complete nonsense.

"However, I won't be quiet when something could be detrimental to a business that we have worked so hard on for a number of years to get it to this point. Especially when the story couldn't be further from the truth.