Towie

YAZMIN Oukhellou has sparked fury from the family and friends of her late ex Jake McLean – and it’s all because of a new reality show.

The former Towie star was recently confirmed as part of the celebrity line-up for Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over.

The series will see the Strictly winner spending an overnight with various stars and, according to the programme’s announcement, getting to know “who they are behind the headlines”.

But sources close to Jake’s loved ones tell The Sun that his nearest and dearest are very concerned she’ll talk about him on the show, and potentially not in a flattering way.

My source said: “Jake’s family and friends are really worried about what Yazmin will say about him.

“There is no love lost between Yaz and his family – they aren’t fans of hers at all, and didn’t invite her to his funeral. They don’t like her talking about their son.”

Yazmin, 32, and Jake had an on-off relationship, first dating in 2019 before splitting.

Then they got back together in May 2021 until July 2022, when Jake was tragically killed in a car accident in Bodrum, Turkey.

Yazmin was in the car with Jake when it veered off a cliff, but managed to survive the horror ordeal.

My source added: “Obviously it is a big part of Yazmin’s life story and a trauma she has been through, so it will definitely come up on the show.

“But Jake’s family hate when she speaks about him – they just don’t like Yaz and didn’t think she was good for Jake.

“Their relationship was volatile at times, and there was speculation she and Jake had rowed in the moments leading up to the car accident, but Yazmin has always firmly denied that.

“Either way though, they didn’t like her when Jake was alive and they don’t like her since he has died.

“They don’t think it’s fair to discuss that when Jake isn’t here to give his side of the story.”

Not helping matters is the fact that, when Yaz was announced as part of the show line-up, the official synopsis for the series mentioned Jake.

Yaz’s bio on the show’s website read: “Yazmin left The Only Way Is Essex following the tragic death of her partner, Jake McLean, and embarked on a new life as an influencer.

“Yazmin has faced criticism for publicising her cosmetic surgery procedures, and Stacey discovers the challenges she faces as she reinvents herself.”

And in a quote from Stacey, she promises some “very honest conversations”, something that has only made the McLean family more anxious.

The source added: “They don’t want Jake’s story told by Yaz.

“They feel like she shouldn’t talk about him out of respect, especially if she is going to paint him in a light that they don’t recognise.”

Jake first became known when he started dating Lauren Goodger in 2012.

The pair were on-and-off for four years, but in 2019 he was linked romantically to Towie’s Yazmin.

Yazmin later left Essex and moved to Dubai to be with Jake and they confirmed their relationship with loved-up snaps from a romantic night out in Dubai.

But sadly their love story was cut short by the car crash in Turkey.

Jake was behind the wheel of the Mercedes E-Class when it left the road and plunged down a ravine.

Emergency crews were scrambled to the scene but sadly Jake couldn’t be saved.

Passenger Yazmin was badly hurt in the smash, but managed to crawl from the wreckage.

It later found that Jake was nearly three times the drink-drive limit and on cocaine when he died in the horror crash.

A post mortem in Turkey after the 4.30am accident in Bodrum last July showed the booze and drugs in Jake’s system.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe told the inquest in Walthamstow, East London, last week: “The post ­mortem found no natural disease, as you would expect in a young man of 33. The cause of death was skull fractures and brain damage.”

Lauren Goodger, who dated Jake for four years, attended his funeral in 2023.

But Yamzin was banned by his family over allegations that a row between the pair had played a part in the crash.

Yazmin’s representatives have been contacted for comment.

HE’S Towie’s handsome long-serving lothario who’s charmed a long list of show stunners over the years.

But you can’t break hearts for a decade on a major reality show and not cop any flack for it.

And Dan Edgar has been on the receiving end of some stinging barbs from former show star Olivia Attwood, who once branded him “boring” and a “coward” on account of his love-life drama with Chloe Sims.

The Essex charmer famously cooled things off with Chloe amid cheating allegations in 2019 and he went on to reunite with on-off girlfriend Amber Turner.

Chloe later told us that the way Dan handled the split “bulldozed” her confidence and led to a cruel pile on from trolls.

Despite brushing off Liv’s criticisms publicly, sources say it left Dan bristling and his decision not to follow Olivia on social media is telling.

Now the follicly-blessed 36-year-old is determined to prove Liv wrong with current girlfriend Chloe Lewis, 35, who he hard-launched in August and has appeared in fun, loved-up snaps with ever since.

An insider told The Sun: “Towie fans will remember it was Olivia who told Chloe that Dan had cheated on her with another woman.

“That led to the implosion of her blossoming romance with Dan, and while Liv was sticking up for her mate, Dan just thinks she’s a trouble maker.

“The ‘boring’ jibe has also never been forgotten by Dan. That was a bit of a sore spot for him, he thinks it was a low blow.

“As a result he still doesn’t follow Olivia on social media to this day, and unsurprisingly she doesn’t follow him either.

“It’s been made a bit awkward though since Olivia started dating Pete Wicks as Dan is still mates with Pete.”

Mum-of-one Chloe Lewis left Towie after four years in 2018, just months before the drama that would kickstart the simmering feud.

She doesn’t appear to have taken offence to Olivia’s past comments about Dan as she remains on the documentary-maker’s social media friends list and even shares the same management.

Our insider said: “It’s a bit of an elephant in the room but it’s safe to say the four of them won’t be going on double dates anytime soon.”

When contacted by The Sun, Dan’s rep denied any beef, saying: “Dan is genuinely surprised by these claims as he has never had an issue with Olivia.

“They’ve had very little interaction over the years, and he certainly doesn’t hold any negative feelings towards her. There’s no feud from Dan’s side, and he wishes her nothing but the best.”

As for Olivia, her issues with Dan stem from the way he treated Chloe Sims during their fling in 2019 on a cast trip to Thailand.

ITV golden girl Liv was a member of the cast at the time and ripped into Dan for ghosting Chloe every time the going got tough, a view shared by viewers who likened him to someone going to ground in witness protection.

Olivia’s boyfriend Pete Wicks once had his own close relationship with Chloe Sims and their friendship secretly spilled into romance on a number of occasions.

It was around this time that Dan, fresh from his split with girlfriend Amber, hooked up with Chloe.

The love triangle, and its murky timeline, sparked confusion and saw Dan and Pete clash in heated scenes.

Liv has made past comments about Dan’s penchant for fading out romances rather than having an honest and frank discussion about the issues getting in the way.

There have been digs about his passivity, with it said that if he wasn’t so good-looking his partners wouldn’t tolerate his behaviour.

Olivia’s past assessment that Dan wasn’t mature enough for Chloe Sims led to fans likening him to Peter Pan, the boy that never grew up.

Pete, whose friendship with Dan has been turbulent over the years, has had a few tongue-in-cheek comments too, once joking that laidback Dan is so chilled that his heartrate remains below 40bpm no matter what drama is unfolding.

Last year, Dan experienced another failed relationship when he and Ella Rae Wise ended their 18-month partnership, despite having a “great sex life”, and it looked like Dan was destined for the single life.

That is until former Towie star Chloe Lewis caught his eye at mutual pals Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallett’s Majorca wedding last summer.

Romance rumours began to swirl in the months that followed as the pair dropped crumbs online, before they enjoyed a joint holiday in Marbella this August, sharing kisses and confirming their relationship.

They had their first official engagement as a couple when they attended a Primark event together last month.

The star-studded bash also had Pete on the guestlist and the trio posed together for a picture, suggesting the frosty relations between Dan and Liv hasn’t affected his and Pete’s friendship. Unlike Dan and Liv, the two do follow each other on Instagram.

There have been a number of smitten social media pictures of Chloe and Dan together since, with the latter now willing to be less subtle about his feelings and seemingly keen to prove to the naysayers that he can be serious and is ready to grow up.

The Sun has contacted a representative for Dan for comment.

AMY Childs has admitted to feeling “emotional” having wrapped filming on her Towie wedding special.

Amy Childs: The Towie Wedding follows Amy and her now-husband Billy Delbosq as they prepare to tie the knot.

The spin-off sees the couple make arrangements before getting legally wed in London, followed by a lavish ceremony at San Roque Golf Club, near Marbella.

Taking to Instagram, Amy shared behind-the-scenes snaps from filming.

She captioned the images: “And that’s a wrap!

“Feeling so emotional our show has come to an end however I am so excited for you to all to see (dates coming soon)!

wedding joy

Towie couple in talks for huge wedding spin-off after Amy Childs’ TV nuptials

FAIRYTALE WED

Towie’s Harry Derbigde shares snaps of Amy Childs wedding ahead of TV special

“It’s been incredible!”

Referencing her daughter, Amy added: “PS Polly the star of the show!”

Amy’s photos saw the reality star sat for cameras solo as well as with Billy.

Another shot saw Polly, nine, who Amy shares with ex Bradley Wright, sat for her own solo pieces to camera.

Amy also shared a selfie, taken after getting glammed up for filming.

She looked chic in a black blazer and matching top, showing off a freshly-styled mane in shades of caramel and hazlenut.

Amy showcased her flawless make-up, with a tanned glow to her complexion, striking black lashes and a slick of rosy gloss across her pout.

She sported a necklace with Billy’s name on it, as well as the names of all her children: Polly and Ritchie from previous relationships and twins Millie and Billy with her now-husband.

The pair had their second ceremony at the end of September, surrounded by 180 guests including Towie co-stars such as Jordan Brook and Sophie Kasaei.

Amy was walked down the aisle by her dad, who is also named Billy, with guests all adhering to a black tie dresscode.

Amy and Billy had their first wedding back in April having previously postponed their nuptials last year.

The new show is expected to land on ITV in the coming months.

WHEN Ferne McCann said she wanted followers who were “coachable and consistent and quietly sick of where they are” to join her business, nearly 3,000 people replied that they were ready.

The former Towie star, 36, didn’t however say what the opportunity actually was or what it involved – instead claiming it pays for her family’s security and her daughter’s education – and can even be done around a full- time job. 

The business in question? Ferne wants you to join her and become an independent distributor for the controversial company Herbalife.

For nine years Ferne has been encouraging people to sign up for the global multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary supplements. 

But behind the glossy facade troubling questions have been asked about the multi-billion pound company.

Herbalife was once regularly pushed by reality stars, but now Ferne is among a handful, alongside Danielle Armstrong, who continues to work with them after a string of concerns.

From the very beginning, Herbalife was a direct-selling company, peddling products to the public through a network of members.

Nothing wrong with that. Plenty of other companies – such as cosmetics giant Avon – have the same model.

Where Herbalife has attracted criticism, however, is in their own particular version of the model.

In the past, members would receive money not just from selling products, but also from bonuses following sales made by new members they had recruited to the brand. New recruits were encouraged to buy a substantial amount of starter ‘inventory’, which meant the person who recruited them earned commission straight away even if the products had not yet sold.

But in 2016 the company was subject to a two-year investigation by America’s Federal Trade Commission.

They concluded that the structure incentivized recruitment over actual retail sales. Herbalife was ordered to pay £147million compensation and told to revamp its compensation structure so that distributors are rewarded for what they sell, instead of fundamentally rewarding recruiting over actual retail sales.

Since the ruling, the recruiter will only get paid commission after the new recruit actually sells those products to real customers and shows receipts.

The ruling did little to quell the fears of some that Herbalife still peddled unrealistic dreams to those who could least afford them.

And despite concerns, last month Ferne was busy recruiting again – sparking outrage and concern amongst ‘victims’ of MLM schemes in the past, who felt she had failed to declare she would be earning money if people signed up and started selling.

A spokesperson for Herbalife confirmed she would not make money just from people being recruited, which appears to be a common misconception about the company.

They said: “Many distributors simply sell products to consumers at a profit. Those who choose to can build their businesses further by coaching their own sales teams of independent distributors and earn a commission on their sales as well as their own. Herbalife distributors are not paid to recruit new members – a practice which is illegal in most countries globally.”

In a surprising move, Ferne admits that MLMs are ‘vague’ but doesn’t explain why – or indeed spell out her business model.

Alongside a series of glam images of herself, Ferne wrote: “Almost 9 years ago I joined a business I didn’t fully understand, with a baby on the way and no plan B.

“Today it pays for my girls’ education, it’s given my family a level of security I didn’t think was an option for me any more.

“I want to be real with you about what this is, because I think the MLM industry does itself no favours by being vague!

“It is flexible. You genuinely can build it from your phone, around school runs, around a full-time job, around whatever your life currently looks like. That part is true and it’s why I’m still here.

“I’m looking for people who are properly ready. People with a work ethic. People who are coachable and consistent and quietly sick of where they are. If that’s you, you already know it.

“I’ll train you, I’ll be in your corner, and I’ll show you exactly what I do.”

There was no direct mention of Herbalife or how anyone signing up, or indeed Ferne, would actually be financially rewarded. I took the plunge and followed the others, who mostly appeared to be women, by writing I was ‘ready’.

I instantly received a DM telling me: “There’s never been a better time to start, it’s exploding…we have such a slick system for anyone who’s ready.”

There was also an invite to watch a 20 minute Information Opportunity Video, hosted by Ferne, which is the point where I got cold feet.

Hundreds will no doubt be desperate to join – tempted by the promise of being able to work around the school run. 

There are clearly still some concerns. Many followers were shocked to see Ferne promoting an MLM, with one person remarking: “It’s so disingenuous isn’t it. She knows that her downline won’t be as successful as her, because the only reason she has a decent downline herself is due to her being a celeb and having followers that way.”

Finding someone willing to talk about their experience with Herbalife is tricky – there appears to be a wall of silence surrounding former distributors. 

One woman, who didn’t want to be named, told me how there have been issues with the company for decades and she lost around £15k when she signed up back in the nineties. 

She explained: “I signed up through an old work colleague who looked like they were making good money. 

“Little did I know they were doing it by piling stock onto the people they signed up, encouraging them to get to the next level or event.

“I trusted them and had no experience of MLM before and thought well if she can do it so can I.”

But it was far from an easy ride.

“Hindsight is a great thing isn’t it?” she said. “I lost around £15k I’d say over a two-year period of trying to make it work. I never encouraged customers to do what I did and that’s maybe why it didn’t work as it did for my referrer. I couldn’t sit with people getting into massive amounts of debt so I could earn commission.”

More recently there have been a lot more stories of MLM nightmares.

Laura Whitby, creator of The Nuance Nurse, with several years’ experience in network marketing and direct selling, spoke out after seeing Ferne’s post.

She still works within the direct selling industry but believes the criticism of MLMs is ‘justified’. She has not worked with Herbalife.

She explained: “I spent nearly three years with another company selling thousands of pounds of products every month. But between the money I was spending maintaining rank and trying to qualify for commissions, I barely earned anything.

“Three years of work, thousands of pounds spent, and God knows how many hours. I’ll never get back. And that’s where I want to discuss the difference between network marketing and community commerce. Because in my experience of MLMs, you open your back office and there’s quite literally a group of people with you at the top.

Laura added: “If a business is supposedly about selling products, why is there so much emphasis on recruiting people? And when we’ve got celebrities with enormous platforms promoting these opportunities, I think we need to be asking some serious questions about what they’re actually signing up for.”

Herbalife have denied this is the business model they are using.

The company is a long way from its humble beginnings.

It was founded in 1980 by diet product salesman Mark Hughes who formulated his own protein shake.

The business which he first ran from the boot of his car quickly snowballed and by 2011 its sales had grown to more than £3bn in around 90 countries.

The investigation by America’s Federal Trade Commission in 2016 was a minor setback.

It ruled that it had operated unfairly, cheating hopeful salespeople out of hundreds of millions of pounds with its high-pressure multi-level marketing scheme.

FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez branded Herbalife’s sale of a “dream” career working from home as “an illusion” and many members “made nothing or lost money on their initial investment”.

And as one bruised former distributor put it: “I would be very wary of something that sounded too good to be true!”