Online-Casinos.co.uk has just sat down with James Bennewith, better known as Diags, the reality star from “The Only Way is Essex,” for an exclusive interview.
Diags has been on the cast of TOWIE since season 4, all the way back in 2012. Today, he’s still filming for TOWIE, but he’s also actively running the family business that he inherited, together with his brother.
In this exclusive interview, Diags shared all about his experience on the show, his dating life, as well as more aspects of his personal life. Check out the full interview for yourself exclusively at Online-Casinos.co.uk:
#1. Hello Diags, it’s good to have you with Online Casinos today. Tell us about your life recently. What are you doing now, and where are you living?
Diags: Right now, I’ve taken over the family business. Me and my brother, we’ve become 50/50 owners of the family business… plumbing and bathroom supplies. It’s all ours.
We’ve probably been running it fully for the last six to eight months, and it’s going well.
A lot of pressure there is in running your own business. You don’t realize it when you’re just working for it. It can be very stressful, but I’m looking to get the rewards out of it, so yeah, I’ll take the stress.
#2. Since everyone knows you from your appearance on TOWIE, we’d like to start this interview by asking you about your experience on the show. How would you describe it?
Diags: It’s such an unusual thing to happen to someone when they’re 20 years of age to go into a show that was really… one of the first shows around.
I think I joined when I was 20; I had just left university; I didn’t really know what I was doing with myself, and I thought I’m gonna take this opportunity and see what it’s like.
It’s been an experience you can’t relate to anything else. I’ve gone all over the world; I’ve filmed in different countries. I’ve met all sorts of people that I’ve never met before.
The first 5-6 years were insane, like really mad. When you are 20, it’s like a whirlwind. It’s all happening at once.
You can’t speak to anyone else about it. The only people I can speak to are my best mates, like Joey and Dan, obviously, who experienced it together. It’s all just brand new, a brand new experience. So, yeah. It was mad, but I have loved it.
#3. Would you say TOWIE has been a huge part of shaping your career and even your personal life?
Diags: I would say it’s not really shaped it. I think it’s more worked into, coincided with it.
My personal life… I have shown it on the show a lot of the time. I do have quite also a separate part of my life, friends; my business as well.
I can’t show it all. I mean one because people won’t be that interested in the day-to-day stuff and two because it’s not for everyone.
I’ve had girlfriends in the past, but we’ve not been on the show. Some people think that they’ll be alright, and then they get in front of the camera, and they realize it’s not like that.
No one is forced to do anything. You’re choosing to show these personal moments that people can relate to because people go through them as well. And that is hard. It does emotionally drain you, so you have to pick and choose.
#4. What do you think your life would have been like now if you had not participated in the show?
Diags: I was doing law. I didn’t get to finish that. My mum always wanted me to be a lawyer. I’m not gonna lie; I really didn’t enjoy the course. But I probably would have gone back and done some further education if I’d had a different opportunity and seen where that would have taken me.
I loved criminal law. The criminal side of it was really interesting. When you read all the cases of things that people have been accused of allegedly doing, it’s really interesting.
#5. Tell us about the beauty of being on TV and what it’s like to be recognized on the street as a reality star. And what’s the worst part of it?
Diags: Back in the day, I used to be quite the clubber. Back then, when it (the show) was quite well-known. It was handy. You get looked after. But you also get a lot of the downsides of it: you get a lot of people giving you looks, especially when people are drunk.
They’ll just assume that they can just say whatever they want. It’s like to me, they go, “Oh, you’re a lot better looking in real life.” I go: “Alright, I’ll take that as a compliment,” but also, “I mean, you think I’m quite ugly on TV”, isn’t it? I understand what you’re saying, and thank you very much, but it’s quite backhanded what you’re saying, but yeah, I’ll take that one.
When we first started, we had Twitter. Twitter was the big thing then, and it was like I was getting abused when I first joined the show. I was getting sort of the stuff that people were saying to me about my skin, my spots, why am I on the show, and what’s my position on the show.
I’ve got the confidence to go on TV and talk about it. I don’t care about what these people say. The people whose opinions should matter to you are the ones that are close to you, your family and your close friends, and even then, it’s up to you. If you don’t like it, take yourself out of that situation because… you need to, number one, care about your mental state of things. Don’t let random strangers or people affect you.
#6. There isn’t much talk about your personal life off cameras. Do you prefer to keep it private, or do you feel like you can’t keep a secret anymore after becoming a reality star?
Diags: It’s not always my decision. In the perfect world, I’d show myself falling in love and everything. It’d be all amazing, and everything would be recorded on TV, and the girl would be amazing on TV. But it doesn’t always work out.
Sometimes people aren’t willing or ready to do that, and I’m not gonna not have relationships just because I can’t show them on TV. If they want to do it off camera, I’m gonna have to do it off camera because they’re comfortable doing that.
#7. After your three-year relationship with Fran, which ended many years ago, do you currently have a significant other?
Diags: No, not at the moment. I was seeing someone for a bit, but that broke off about a year ago, so yeah, I’m completely single at the moment and looking for love.
#8. Following Elma Pazar’s arrival on the show in the Dominican Republic, it has been reported that your relationship with her is growing. How would you describe your relationship with Elma?
Diags: I love Elma. Elma is amazing. We’ve been trying to organize a date for quite a while now. We’re actually gonna go out… on Wednesday. She’s such a funny girl. She’s obviously beautiful. So, I would love to see where that goes.
Hopefully, we can actually make some time for each other. She was in a relationship when she joined the Dominican. So, I couldn’t do anything.
I was spending so much time with her, and we were getting along, but I’m not like that; I would never break up someone’s relationship. So, it was sort of like the forbidden fruit. I was declaring my love for her, and she was in love with another geezer.
#9. Single or not, many are wondering, “What does Diags do in his free time?” Tell us about your hobbies and interests in your private life.
Diags: At the moment, I’m working so much that I don’t really get up to much outside of it other than going on mad nights out just to have a blowout. I work Mondays to Saturdays, and then on the weekends, I just blow off some steam.
I mean, I tried to get a little bit of interest when I was doing skydiving, abseiling, and those sorts of things. I have done a skydive; I abseiled from a tower after a night out. I’d been out heavily the night before, and at the time, I was feeling extremely confident… I was like, “I’ll be sweet, I’ll be fine, oh, I’ll be fine.” As soon as I got there, I was like, “What have I done!”
I would love to go skydiving again. The buzz of that is insane. I’ve never had an adrenaline rush like it. It’s mad.
#10. On that note, after reading that you broke the Guinness record for the most capital cities named on a rollercoaster in one minute while on a visit to Thorpe Park in Surrey, we were very surprised, not to lie. You listed an impressive total of 38, surpassing the previous record by 11. How do you feel about that?
Diags: It was mental. I knew I could do it. I’m in the book as well, so that’s insane. I used to read that book. I used to get one every Christmas, and now I’m actually in the Guinness World Records book. It’s the last page possible, and it’s the last record in there, but it still counts.
#11. Do you intend to break any more records of this sort and gain more attention from the public?
Diags: Never say never. You just never know. Yes, I’ve got one more record. Will I go for more? I’m not sure. I mean, the stress, the training, and the dedication it took to break that one took a lot out of me.
It’s mad how your life changes when you become a Guinness World Record holder. The girls are screaming my name. Calm down, everyone. I know I am amazing.
#12. For those who do not know, alongside TOWIE, you also work for your family’s plumbing business, Plumb Point Essex, and are a former law student. Are you as focused on the show as much as you are on your family business?
Diags: My family business is my main priority because, for one, if I don’t run it, it will shut. Two, obviously, my family depends on it. The stress and pressure of running that and making sure it’s successful are the main priorities.
The TOWIE side of stuff, I am not saying it’s easy, because it can be very stressful, but it also comes naturally to me. I’m just being myself. Obviously, I do dedicate myself to filming, so I have someone cover for me at work. My team, my brother, and the people who work for us are really good.
#13. Do you intend to continue with TOWIE, or do you have other career-related aspirations?
Diags: I always do it by series. Obviously, I’m not getting any younger, but I’m still young enough to enjoy it. As soon as I stop really enjoying it and also feel like it’s coming to an end for myself personally, then I will stop.
I do have to take my business seriously, and it can affect it. If it ever came to the point where it was affecting it in a negative way too, and I couldn’t feel like I could trust the people that were working for me in that sense to get stuff done that I needed to do, it’s more likely that it would take the hit.
At the moment, it’s working. If it didn’t work, then obviously I’d have to relook at things and see what happens. TOWIE is very accommodating to me. They work around what I have to do. We value each other; I value what they do for me, and they obviously value what I do for them.
#14. Is there a reality show that has captured your attention that you might want to join, like Strictly Come Dancing?
Diags: Do you know what? I’ll be so good at Strictly (Come Dancing). I’ve got snake hips; I really have.
One that looks like the best experience is the Jungle. I feel like it would be mad. Plus, it’s brilliant for weight loss. If they have approached me and offered to do it, definitely. For the experience, that would be amazing.
#15. Because you already have an audience and many people follow and are interested in your lifestyle, do you plan to become an independent content creator and leave national TV shows? Is such a plan in your near future?
Diags: I’m not saying it’s the hardest job in the world. I appreciate the levels that some of them (content creators) go to because I find it incredibly hard to do. I could do it in front of TV cameras, no problem. When it comes to creating content and putting up those sorts of videos on TikTok, I just can’t do it.
I am a 31-year-old man, and I cannot get on camera and do Tik Toks. I don’t have a Tik Tok account. I have got Instagram. I’m not even good at that.
#16. After spending so much time on the show, do you ever watch it?
Diags: I used to watch it a lot. I watch it, but normally only if someone tells me to watch some of it. I should really watch it all because I often start turning up in it and I don’t know what’s happening.
I should watch it more than I do, but when I’m busy, I don’t watch much TV, so it’s not that I don’t watch TOWIE. I don’t watch much TV at all.
Watching yourself back, it’s horrible. It’s like listening to your own voice, but ten times worse. You can actually see yourself.
#17. Who is your favorite TOWIE contestant to date?
Diags: There are loads. Chloe Sims, obviously. She’s been there for me from the start. Joey, he left very soon, but obviously, he’s still my best mate in real life. We see each other every day. Obviously, Tom Pearce, who was on it, is still my best mate.
There are so many of them. The ones I have mentioned are probably the main guys for me. We are all still friends. I mean, I’ve still got my closer friends like Joey and Tom, and obviously Chloe, but, everyone sort of put their mark on it.
#18. I don’t know if you were aware, but there are plenty of gambling sites that bet on the contestants and predict who will win certain reality shows. Do you stand behind that and think it’s acceptable to have the public bet on their personal lives?
Diags: Well yeah, but you put your personal life in the public domain, didn’t you? So yeah. If we were secretly doing it behind their backs and they didn’t know we were filming them and we were betting on them, then that’s a little bit odd.
But yeah, if you’ve gone on TV and you’re in a contest… It’s open to it. And if people want to bet, as long as it’s done safely—take plenty of breaks, do plenty of reality checks, set your limits—then yeah.
#19. What’s your view on gambling? Do you ever like to hit the casino?
Diags: I’ve been to Vegas. It is mad out there. You don’t sleep out there, do you? Me and Tom Pierce, who used to be on the show, went out there, and yeah… it was mad. We were trying to get out as we went out there just for five days. You’ve gotta be prepared for that when you go out. I mean, you’re staying in the casino, so you’ve gotta understand what’s happening.
#20. To end things off, would you like to share anything with us? Does the new year hold any exciting plans for you?
Diags: We’re coming back to filming end of January. Apparently, we’re going away for a bit. There should be some madness going on there.
I’m launching my new site, Plumb Point Essex, in the new year. I’ve come up with the names, which have yet to be confirmed, but on the website, we will have bathrooms selling on there.
That will be opening up in the new year. I am almost done with that; I am just setting out the final pieces of it. So, yeah. That’s me for the new year.