A cast member of The Only Way Is Essex was reduced to tears as he explained his decision to leave the show during production.
Freddie Bentley's Dramatic Departure
The 37th series of the popular ITV programme is now in full swing and has already delivered considerable drama. Fresh episodes air on ITV2 every Sunday and Monday evening at 9pm. For those who cannot wait, each episode typically becomes available on ITVX slightly before its television premiere.
Launching the new series, most of the cast travelled to Vietnam for a different experience and setting, but they have not escaped the drama. Their holiday has been filled with substantial chaos as friendships risk being torn apart. Things reached breaking point in the latest episode when one cast member chose to dramatically walk away from the show while still filming.
Freddie Bentley unexpectedly decided to return home halfway through the excursion, leaving the remaining group astonished. This followed heated clashes with Ella, which were thought to have been resolved, reports OK!.
Cast Reactions
The following morning, Dan could be heard telling the others that Freddie had departed, with the revelation catching everyone off guard. He continued: "Listen, I said to him he's had a lot going on, seems he has drama every day, it's the best thing for him if he feels he needs to go, I said go. I think you should go."
Diags confessed there has been "a lot of stress out here", though Livvy hit back: "I feel like you can't give it and not take it at the end of the day and then be like 'oh my god', do you know what I mean?"
Diags went on to say: "Listen, the person that he is, he's just a very stressful person sometimes. Should he handle things more calmly in certain instances and probably be doing better? Yeah, but you can't change who you are."
Freddie's Emotional Return
In Sunday's episode (May 10) airing at 9pm on ITV2, Freddie is shown back on home turf catching up with Saffron, debuting a dramatic shaved head which he likens to a 'Britney moment'. When Saffron quizzes him on recent events, he responds: "Vietnam was just something else, all of it. Terrible."
She presses him further, revealing she needs to address 'the situation' after being told something by a third party, asking Freddie for his side of the story. He responds: "To be honest Saff, when I found out and I heard it, I was shocked. I can assure you now that the things that Ella is saying, accusing me of saying about you is 100% not true. Me and you have never had cross words to say such horrible things about you."
Saffron concedes she is unsure who to believe, but insists she wouldn't have Freddie in her home if she didn't care for him, expressing her desire to 'draw a line' under the whole affair and move forwards. When she asks how Freddie is really feeling, given his recent silence, the question reduces him to tears.
He then opens up: "I think, I've just had time to reflect about what is going to make me happy and I think leaving Essex for a while is something that I need to do. I just think being around certain people isn't good for me. I'm going to take some time out and go to Tenerife. I'm going to a retreat in Tenerife... a healing retreat about me having to deal with traumas in my life that I'm having to cover up. I just think the only way I can become me again, a happy person, is by taking some time out for me."
The remainder of the episode focuses largely on the rest of the group still in Vietnam. Whether Freddie will make a return appearance later in the series remains to be seen.
The Only Way is Essex airs Sunday and Monday on ITV2 at 9pm.
