'The Only Way Is Essex' to air live Christmas special?

The Only Way Is Essex will go live over the Christmas holiday, it has been reported.



The show will go out in early December, and producers have their eyes on encouraging cast members such as Amy Childs to come back for the special, according to The Sun.

"Doing an episode live is a high-risk strategy but everyone is excited about it," an insider said. "We've banned any booze because we don't want any funny business happening.

"The last thing that we need is them all getting a bit of Dutch courage and it ending up kicking off."

The source added it was unlikely that former couple Mark Wright and Lauren Goodger would be asked back for the Christmas special, stressing that planning is in its early stages.

"We're more likely to ask Amy Childs," they claimed. "Nothing has been decided yet - even the cast don't know they're doing this."

The Only Way is Essex airs on ITV2.