Back in the day, there might have been a screaming match. Hair would have been tossed, angry looks exchanged, insults hurled, sides taken.
Part of what made the glossy show Made In Chelsea such a success was that it dealt with the complicated reality of female twenty-something friendships as much as it did with the themes of who was dating who in between shopping for designer handbags.
What has changed now that the female MIC stars are in their 30s, juggling marriage, motherhood, aging parents and careers? Well, there’s a revealing scene in Beyond Chelsea – a ‘catch-up’ spin-off show on E4 in which three of the original gang get back together – that seems to sum it up. No punches were thrown, but – eek! – the chill in the air.
‘It was awkward,’ agrees Lucy Watson, 35, of the day in question, where she’d been invited to celebrate her friend Binky Felstead’s 35th birthday at an upmarket London restaurant. Also on the guest list for the day – which was to be filmed for this new series – was Rosie Fortescue, 36. They were seated opposite each other and, as viewers will see, you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
‘Well, I had a good time,’ says Lucy. ‘It was great to see Binky’s mum, and Ollie [Locke, another Made In Chelsea co-star]. But I didn’t feel Rosie was having a good time. I just wanted to be polite, friendly. I tried hard but I didn’t feel it was reciprocated. It was uncomfortable. I didn’t feel good energy from her. I felt she had zero interest in my life or me.’
The old Lucy – never one to hold back in the original show – might have told Rosie to her face that she thought this was the height of rudeness. Now?
‘I was peaceful for Binky’s sake, because it was her birthday. Also I’m now in my 30s, married with a child. I’m not going to have a screaming match just because someone’s being cold. I didn’t feel it was worth my energy. I feel now that if someone is being that way, that’s on them. I can’t control how they are.’
Lucy Watson, Binky Felstead and Rosie Fortescue are reunited in the E4 spin-off show Beyond Chelsea
There’s a revealing scene in Beyond Chelsea in which Lucy Watson and Rosie Fortescue are sat opposite each other… you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife
This is a scene from the first episode, though. In the second, it does kick off. ‘It gets more fiery,’ says Lucy. ‘I’m less accepting of her behaviour.’ And are they friends now? ‘We’re not in touch, no,’ says Lucy, and the subject of Rosie is closed.
What a conundrum for the programme-makers, though. You convince three of the original reality show cast to step back into the limelight – only to find two of them can’t stand each other.
In the original MIC there were plenty of feuds but, interestingly, Rosie and Lucy were never sworn enemies. Both moved in the same tight-knit circle – along with Binky – but while Lucy developed a reputation for fiery confrontations with fellow cast members (notably with Spencer Matthews and Stephanie Pratt), Rosie was always a quieter, more diplomatic character. What has changed now? Perhaps their relationship is just more exposed, given the pared-down cast.
You might expect the women themselves to downplay their supposed animosity in our interviews. Not a bit of it. Rosie doesn’t have a good word to say about Lucy either.
Are they chalk and cheese? Most definitely. Rosie seems to visibly glaze over while listening to Lucy wax lyrical about motherhood and domesticity during that awkward birthday meal. And while Lucy has brought out a book about raising her son to be vegan, Rosie, who doesn’t have children, is a proud carnivore. ‘I had a steak yesterday,’ she tells me. ‘Medium-rare ribeye. Phenomenal.’
Binky Felstead has had the most mainstream success of the trio, being a brand ambassador for M&S, where she has her own kids’ clothing range.
Lucy Watson says of Rosie Fortescue: ‘I tried hard but I didn’t feel it was reciprocated. It was uncomfortable. I didn’t feel good energy from her. I felt she had zero interest in my life or me.’
Rosie says: ‘I am my own person. I choose who I want to be friends with. In my private life, I don’t think about Lucy Watson ever.’
So what about Lucy? Rosie gives a big sigh. ‘I don’t understand why everyone’s pushing me on to her. Why do I have to be friends with Lucy?’ she asks. ‘I am my own person. I choose who I want to be friends with. In my private life, I don’t think about Lucy Watson ever. I’ve got wonderful friends. I don’t need more friends just to make other people happy.’
Lucy and Rosie have, Binky admits, ‘always had an interesting dynamic. I don’t think they’ve ever got on. And of course it’s always tricky being the one in the middle.’
Now married with three children, Binky has had the most mainstream success of the trio. While they’re all social media influencers, Binky is a brand ambassador for M&S, where she has her own kids’ clothing range.
It was her idea to make Beyond Chelsea, which follows the women as they deal with increasingly complex thirtysomething lives. Fertility is a key issue (Lucy struggled to get pregnant with her son Willoughby, who is now two, while Rosie has frozen her eggs in case she wants children later). Family pressures are addressed (Binky updates viewers on the health of her mother, who has MS, and even goes for genetic testing to see if she risks developing the condition).
Relationships are explored too. We see Lucy (who left the show in 2016 because she felt it would be harder to maintain a serious relationship on it) convincing husband James Dunmore, who she met on MIC, to go to marriage therapy.
The pair had a rough patch after moving into a new home that needed huge renovations when their son was just a month old. ‘We weren’t able to prioritise each other,’ she says. ‘I was trying to work out whether we weren’t good together or whether it was because of our environment. Life isn’t perfect, even if it might seem so on social media.’
All three talk of the pressures of growing up in the public eye. Lucy found this ‘overwhelming. Your whole life is there for people to take apart.’ Hence eventually bowing out. What made her return? ‘I think I had enough time to miss it.’ As for Rosie, she’s single, and heartache is hinted at in the new show. A relationship she was hopeful for hasn’t worked out. ‘But he was wonderful and I’m so grateful I met him.’
Ultimately though, the clashes between Rosie and Lucy are the main draw. ‘The audience loves drama. That’s why reality TV does so well,’ says Binky. ‘Rosie and Lucy can handle themselves. People will be interested to see how “real” it actually is. There’s no point faking relationships. They’re honest about that too.’
Beyond Chelsea is on E4 at 9pm on Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25