SINCE launching in 2010, TOWIE has given us some of the most iconic stars of reality TV.
But Gemma Collins, James ‘Arg’ Argent and Amy Childs would have been nothing without the ITVBe show’s most important cast member – The Sugar Hut.
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The infamous Essex nightclub has had plenty of celebrity guests, drama and wild moments over the years – many of which were captured on TOWIE.
However, the hotspot has now gone on sale for an eye-popping £3.8million.
Sugar Hut was previously owned by late TOWIE star Mick Norcross, who found the business didn’t always benefit from appearing on the show.
Mick – who tragically killed himself in January 2021 – sold The Sugar Hut in 2019, for an undisclosed sum, after claiming he didn’t want it to be associated with TOWIE anymore.
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He told The Sun in 2013: “My club is an upmarket venue where people come to drink champagne and feel spoiled.
“All these rows they keep filming don’t show the club in a good light and I’m worried it’s putting people off coming, which is the last thing I want.”
Here we look back at the stunning VIPs who have graced The Sugar Hut, as well as the infamous spats and iconic parties that have taken place over the years.
Paid to party
First opening its doors in 2004, The Sugar Hut quickly became known as a glitzy oasis in the heart of Brentwood – not least thanks to its ‘honeys’.
The stunning girls were hired to party with Mick and the other guests and occasionally even went on to become famous faces themselves.
Before she entered the first series of Love Island in 2015, Hannah Elizabeth worked as a Sugar Hut Honey.
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The Liverpool-born stunner told The Sun: “There was just 12 of us and we were just getting paid to party, really.
“They said we were hostesses but we were just partying in orange dresses.
“I had an absolute ball doing that and that’s when I just fell in love with Essex and moved down there.”
Love triangle drama
Lauren Goodger and Mark Wright’s on-off relationship was the main focus of the first series of TOWIE.
The couple eventually called it quits in 2012.
But in an early episode, during one of their many breaks, Lauren was left seething when she spotted Mark flirting with Sam Faiers at Sugar Hut on her birthday.
Launching into a foul-mouthed tirade, she revealed she and Mark were still sleeping together and that Mark had told her he still loved her.
But that wasn’t the only bust-up Lauren had at Sugar Hut.
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In 2016, she was investigated by police, after allegedly getting involved in a fight with two women at the club.
Allegations passed to The Sun claimed a third party was trying to pull the reality star’s hands from a girl’s hair when security intervened.
The source added that the complainants were treated like “troublemakers” and removed from the club while security ensured celebrity Lauren was OK.
Following the alleged brawl, a source told Closer magazine: “Lauren’s annoyed by reports that people are making these claims against her and speaking to the police.
“She despairs because she feels like they’re using her name to make headlines just because she’s famous. Lauren’s annoyed that the story has the potential to overshadow her TOWIE return.”
A spokeswoman for Lauren added at the time: “As this is a current police investigation with no arrests made or charges brought, we don’t really feel it is appropriate to comment on it.”
Secret porn film
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After Mick died in 2021, it emerged he’d once allowed a hardcore porn film based on TOWIE, titled The Only Way Is Es(Sex) to be filmed at Sugar Hut.
In the X-rated movie, actors Stacey Lacey and Kai Taylor are said to engage in sexual acts on a sofa, with the familiar triangular TOWIE logo seen in the background.
Mick took a “substantial fee” from Television X, who produced the film, to help pay for his mountain of debts, which sources claimed was up to £8.5million.
The production company said: “We spoofed Towie with stars who really know how to put the sex into Essex — Mick was upstairs during Stacey’s scene.”
A television source added: “ITV2 bosses were fuming when they found out.”
Joey’s Olympian bust-up
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These days, Sam Faiers is settled down with her partner Paul Knight and their three children.
But in 2013, she was getting thrown out of Sugar Hut by big, burly bouncers in the early hours of the morning – thanks to Joey Essex , her boyfriend at the time.
Sam had been apparently enjoying a night out with her sister Billie Faiers and Joey, when he allegedly got into a fight with Olympic athlete Ashley Mackenzie.
In a statement after, Joey’s representative told Mail Online he’d had “a minor disagreement,” but there was no “physical violence” involved.
If that wasn’t starry enough a night, JLS stars Marvin Humes and JB Gill were also there, celebrating Aston Merrygold’s 25th birthday, along with Olympic gymnast Louis Smith.
A-list VIPs… and a birthday to remember
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The Sugar Hut wasn’t just a reality TV haunt – it has also attracted stars including footie legends like Frank Lampard and Teddy Sheringham.
But no celeb could quite match the glamour of Pamela Anderson, who dazzled guests with a very surprising appearance in 2012.
She was seen posing for pictures with a clearly thrilled Mick, before sitting to chat and sip champagne with his son Kirk inside the venue.
Closer to home, Hollyoaks star Charlie Wernham had an unexpected 18th birthday party to remember at the venue.
While starring in Bad Education as a teenager, the actor, now 30, was treated by lead star Jack Whitehall to a lavish night in the Sugar Hut VIP area and a limousine for his milestone birthday.
Charlie told the Mirror: “It was my 18th birthday and we were shooting the school trip episode at some horrible petting zoo and Jack came up to me and said: ‘You’re 18 in a couple of weeks aren’t you? What are you doing for it?’
“I said I don’t know yet and he said: ‘We should go to Sugar Hut’. TOWIE was quite big at the time and I think Jack was a secret fan.
They surprised us with a limo outside the house and we had this big night in Sugar Hut in the VIP area.
“Jack was in his element.”
GC refused entry
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These days, if you denied the GC entry anywhere, you’d be given a bit more than an earful.
But in a 2013 episode of TOWIE, Danni Park-Dempsey and Mick were seen not letting the self-confessed diva into Sugar Hut for a Halloween party.
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Gemma – who’d got all dressed up for the bash – was furious as she stormed off, shouting: “Bang out of order! He can’t do that to me. Bang out of order.”
A sobbing Gemma then got into her car and got James Argent to come out and speak to her, but he was far from sympathetic, saying: “Gemma why don’t you just drop it?”
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